Top 80 Thanksgiving Quotes

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Thanksgiving is a time when you come together with friends and family and remember about all the things that you are thankful for. With that in mind, check out the top 80 Thanksgiving quotes.

#80 – 70. Thanksgiving Quotes

80. “Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” W.T. Purkiser

79. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy

78. “On Thanksgiving Day we acknowledge our dependence.” William Jennings Bryan

77. “Thanksgiving Day is a good day to recommit our energies to giving thanks and just giving.” Amy Grant

76. “Remember God’s bounty in the year. String the pearls of His favor. Hide the dark parts, except so far as they are breaking out in light! Give this one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!” Henry Ward Beecher

75. “Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.” Johnny Carson

74. “Thanksgiving is America’s national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty.” Michael Dresser

73. “Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” Margaret Cousins

72. “Coexistence: what the farmer does with the turkey — until Thanksgiving.” Mike Connolly

71. “Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.” Theodore Roosevelt

70. “But see, in our open clearings, how golden the melons lie; Enrich them with sweets and spices, and give us the pumpkin-pie!” Margaret Junkin Preston

#69 – 60. Thanksgiving Quotes

69. “Although Thanksgiving comes but once a year, every day should be a day of Thanks. Among all the challenges that we face as people with hearing loss there are certainly brighter moments in every day – moments that deserve to be recorded in our Gratitude Journal.” Monique Hammond

68. “On Thanksgiving I will stop to give thanks that my family is safe and healthy, especially because I realize that, following the tragedies of this year, it is all too real a possibility that they might not have been.” Bobby Jindal

67. “All across America, we gather this week with the people we love to give thanks to God for the blessings in our lives.” George W. Bush

66. “Thanksgiving Day is a jewel, to set in the hearts of honest men; but be careful that you do not take the day, and leave out the gratitude.” E.P. Powell

65. “Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.” Omar Khayyam

64. “Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” Margaret Cousins

63. “It has been an unchallengeable American doctrine that cranberry sauce, a pink goo with overtones of sugared tomatoes, is a delectable necessity of the Thanksgiving board and that turkey is uneatable without it.” Alistair Cooke

62. “Cooking Tip: Wrap turkey leftovers in aluminum foil and throw them out.” Nicole Hollander

61. “When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup.” Sam Lefkowitz

60. “Thanksgiving, our eminent moral holiday, doesn’t have much for children. At its heart are conversation, food, drink, and fellowship – all perks of adulthood.” Rosecrans Baldwin

#59 – 50. Thanksgiving Quotes

59. “Thanksgiving comes to us out of the prehistoric dimness, universal to all ages and all faiths. At whatever straws we must grasp, there is always a time for gratitude and new beginnings.” J. Robert Moskin

58. “Not what we say about our blessing, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” W.T. Purkiser

57. “He who thanks but with the lips Thanks but in part; The full, the true Thanksgiving Comes from the heart.” J.A. Shedd

56. “I love Thanksgiving because it’s a holiday that is centered around food and family, two things that are of utmost importance to me.” Marcus Samuelsson

55. “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy

54. “Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.” Joyce Giraud

53. “You shouldn’t just give during Christmas and Thanksgiving you should be giving all the time.” Alcurtis Turner

52. “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” Willie Nelson

51. “Thanksgiving reminds us that no matter what befalls us in life, we can take the charred remnants and we can reconstruct a life unimaginably richer than that from which the shards and pieces fell.” Craig D. Lounsbrough

50. “Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness and gratitude.” Nigel Hamilton

#49 – 40. Thanksgiving Quotes

49. “If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily.” Gerald Good

48. “I like football. I find its an exciting strategic game. Its a great way to avoid conversation with your family at Thanksgiving.” Craig Ferguson

47. “Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.” Joyce Giraud

46. “If the only prayer you said in your life was ‘Thank you,’ that would suffice.” Meister Eckhart

45. “Drink and be thankful to the host! What seems insignificant when you have it, is important when you need it.” Franz Grillparzer

44. “Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence.” Erma Bombeck

43. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melody Beattie

42. “What we’re really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?” Erma Bombeck

41. “The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” Dalai Lama

40. “The more we express thanks, the more gratitude we feel. The more gratitude we feel, the more we express thanks. It’s circular, and it leads to a happier life.” Steve Goodier

#39 – 30. Thanksgiving Quotes

39. “Thanksgiving is America’s favorite holiday because it’s a time when we put aside our cares, much as the struggling Pilgrims did nearly four centuries ago, and eat a gut-busting meal without worrying about the ‘out years.’” David Ignatius

38. “Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” W.T. Purkiser

37. “Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day.” Robert Caspar Lintner

36. “An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” Irv Kupcinet

35. “It’s like being at the kids’ table at Thanksgiving – you can put your elbows on it, you don’t have to talk politics… no matter how old I get, there’s always a part of me that’s sitting there.” John Hughes

34. “Our rural ancestors, with little blest, Patient of labour when the end was rest, Indulged the day that housed their annual grain, With feasts, and off’rings, and a thankful strain.” Alexander Pope

33. “Thanksgiving is so called because we are all so thankful that it only comes once a year.” P. J. O’Rourke

32. “What I love about Thanksgiving is that it’s purely about getting together with friends or family and enjoying food. It’s really for everybody, and it doesn’t matter where you’re from.” Daniel Humm

31. “But see, in our open clearings, how golden the melons lie; Enrich them with sweets and spices, and give us the pumpkin-pie!” Margaret Junkin Preston

30. “It took me three weeks to stuff the turkey. I stuffed it through the beak.” Phyllis Diller

#29 – 20. Thanksgiving Quotes

29. “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” Oprah Winfrey

28. “I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old-fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighborhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land.” Jon Stewart

27. “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” Helen Keller

26. “The Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving.” H.U. Westermayer

25. “Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life… a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year — and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God.” Ray Stannard Baker

24. “Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day of your life. Appreciate and never take for granted all that you have.” Catherine Pulsifer

23. “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.” W. Clement Stone

22. “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” Charles Dickens

21. “Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants.” Kevin James

20. “Gratitude is the inward feeling of kindness received. Thankfulness is the natural impulse to express that feeling. Thanksgiving is the following of that impulse.” Henry Van Dyke

#19 – 10. Thanksgiving Quotes

19. “Love doesn’t make the world go ’round. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile.” Franklin P. Jones

18. “My most memorable meal is every Thanksgiving. I love the food: the turkey and stuffing; the sweet potatoes and rice, which come from my mother’s Southern heritage; the mashed potatoes, which come from my wife’s Midwestern roots; the Campbell’s green-bean casserole; and of course, pumpkin pie.” Douglas Conant

17. “Thanksgiving just gets me all warm and tingly and all kinds of wonderful inside.” Willard Scott

16. “My fondest memories are generally the day after Thanksgiving. I get the total decorating Christmas itch.” Katharine McPhee

15. “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” John F. Kennedy

14. “Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie.” Jim Davis

13. “If you really are thankful, what do you do? You share.” W. Clement Stone

12. “Yesterday’s the past, tomorrow’s the future, but today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present.” Bil Keane

11. “Real ballplayers pass the stuffing by rolling it up in a ball and batting it across the table with a turkey leg.” Tom Swyers

10. “And though I ebb in worth, I’ll flow in thanks.” John Taylor

#9 – 1. Thanksgiving Quotes

9. “Stand up, on this Thanksgiving Day, stand upon your feet. Believe in man. Soberly and with clear eyes, believe in your own time and place. There is not, and there never has been a better time, or a better place to live in.” Phillips Brooks

8. “I suppose I will die never knowing what pumpkin pie tastes like when you have room for it.” Robert Brault

7. “The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.” William Blake

6. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” William Arthur Ward

5. “Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech Thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Thy favor and glad to do Thy will.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

4. “If you think about a Thanksgiving dinner, it’s really like making a large chicken.” Ina Garten

3. “A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” Cicero

2. “Pride slays thanksgiving, but a humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.” Henry Ward Beecher

1.”I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.” Erma Bombeck

Ideas for the top 80 Thanksgiving quotes come from the following sources.^[1]Women’s Day – 15 Thanksgiving Quote That Capture the True Meaning of the Day^[2]KeepInspiring.ME – 107 Thanksgiving Quote That Will Have You Counting Your Blessings