Things to Say on Thanksgiving: Messages, Quotes and Poems
Looking for the right things to say on Thanksgiving? Find heartfelt Thanksgiving messages, short greetings, funny quotes, and Thanksgiving poems or sayings to share with family, friends, and coworkers.
Whether you need a quick “Happy Thanksgiving!” text message, a thoughtful note for a Thanksgiving card, or a few words to share around the dinner table, finding the right words isn’t always easy. These things to say on Thanksgiving will help you tell the important people in your life how much they mean to you—without staring at a blank card for twenty minutes.
You’ll find warm Thanksgiving wishes for friends and family members, professional greetings for coworkers, funny Thanksgiving quotes, and classic Thanksgiving poems or sayings. Copy a simple message as written, or add a personal detail to make it your own.
Thanksgiving Day has a long history in the United States: President Abraham Lincoln called for an annual day of thanksgiving in 1863, and Congress established the fourth Thursday of November as the federal holiday’s fixed date in 1941. But however your family spends the day, a sincere thanks can mean a lot. Here’s a little more about that history from the National Archives.
Jump to the Thanksgiving messages, quotes, and poems that fit your occasion:
- Thanksgiving Messages for Anyone
- Happy Thanksgiving Messages for Co-Workers and Colleagues
- General Thanksgiving Quotes
- Inspirational Thanksgiving Quotes
- Funny Thanksgiving Quotes
- Thanksgiving Poems
- Things to be Thankful for on Thanksgiving
More Thanksgiving Ideas for Families
Planning a family gathering while you write your Thanksgiving cards? You might also want to save these rhyming Thanksgiving poems for kids, Thanksgiving trivia questions, and free printable Thanksgiving activities for toddlers.
For the food side of the holiday, my Thanksgiving turkey injection recipes and slow cooker turkey guide can help with the main dish. A little less prep stress means more quality time at the table.
What Is a Good Thanksgiving Message?
A good Thanksgiving message doesn’t need to be long. A simple message that names what you appreciate about someone often means more than a perfectly polished greeting. Whether you’re sending warm wishes in a text message, writing a thoughtful card, or sharing thanks over pumpkin pie, start with something genuine and make it personal.
Short Happy Thanksgiving Messages for Texts
Need something quick to send before Thanksgiving dinner? These short Thanksgiving greetings are easy to copy into a text or add to a card.
Happy Thanksgiving! So grateful for you today and all year long.
Wishing you good food, good times, and a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Happy turkey day! Hope your day is full of laughter and your favorite people.
Sending warm wishes and a big hug your way this Thanksgiving.
Thankful for our friendship and all the little moments in between. Happy Thanksgiving!
Wishing you a peaceful day, a grateful heart, and plenty of pumpkin pie.
Happy Thanksgiving Day! I hope this holiday brings some joy your way.
Thinking of you today and sending lots of love. Happy Thanksgiving!
Heartfelt Thanksgiving Card Messages for Family and Friends
A Thanksgiving card is the perfect time to tell someone why they matter. For a best friend, family member, or someone who helped you through a challenging year, try one of these heartfelt Thanksgiving messages.
This past year has reminded me how lucky I am to have you in my corner. Thank you for showing up in both the big moments and the ordinary ones. Happy Thanksgiving.
Some of the best things in my life aren’t things at all. They’re the people who make hard days easier and good days even better. I’m so grateful for you.
Thank you for the laughter, the encouragement, and the memories we’ve made this year. Sending you my sincere thanks and wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Even when we can’t gather around the same Thanksgiving table, I’m thankful for the love and connection we share. Sending you so much love today.
You have made such a difference in my life, and I never want to take that for granted. Wishing you a beautiful Thanksgiving and a year filled with good things.
If this year has been a tough one, I hope today brings you comfort and a little peace. I’m thankful to know you, and I’m always cheering you on.
Not sure which one to choose? Add one specific memory or kindness from the past year to make your Thanksgiving wishes feel even more meaningful.
Thanksgiving Messages for Anyone
Here are a few Thanksgiving messages of gratitude and appreciation that could be added to a note for anyone in your life, including family and friends, teachers and neighbors.
Thanksgiving greetings! We have so much to be thankful for. One day a year hardly seems adequate.
May the good things of life be yours in abundance not only at Thanksgiving but throughout the coming year.
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. Happy Thanksgiving to those closest to my heart.
Here’s a heartwarming thanks to you for the hope, peace and joy that you bring to my life.
Hope that you’re surrounded with the love of your dear ones during this festive season. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Wishing you a harvest of blessings, good health and good times. Sending you wishes for a joyous Thanksgiving.
Happy turkey day! I hope your holiday is full of good food and lots of fun.
We gather on this day to be thankful for what we have, for the family we love, the friends we cherish, and for the blessings that will come. Happy Thanksgiving!
May your blessings be multiplied this year and throughout all your life. Happy Thanksgiving wishes to you!
Here’s to enjoying the company of good friends and family. Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving Day. Our homes may be far apart, but our hearts are as close as always. May all the good things of life be yours, not only at Thanksgiving but throughout the coming year.
Warm wishes for a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving wishes from across the miles from our house to yours. May your home be filled with laughter and happiness, today and every day!
Gratitude is the heart’s memory. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving.
November is the time to be thankful, a time to remember and to embrace those who enrich our lives. I’m thankful for a lot of things, but I’m most thankful for you.
At this time of Thanksgiving celebration, our thoughts turn gratefully to you with warm appreciation. Our best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy Thanksgiving Messages for Co-Workers and Colleagues
These happy Thanksgiving messages for coworkers are a great way to recognize the people you work with. Keep your Thanksgiving card messages professional and thoughtful, and add a personal note when it feels appropriate.
In this time of Thanksgiving, just a note to say how thankful I am to work with a wonderful colleague like you. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you for all that you do as our department lead. I am so appreciative of the time you invest in our team. Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Working with you is inspiring and such a pleasure. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
I am grateful that this job has given me not only such a wonderful coworker, but also a new friendship. Thankful for the fun you bring to our roles, and wishing you a happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving Quotes
Sometimes a memorable quote says exactly what we mean. These Thanksgiving quotes include thoughts on gratitude, family gatherings, and the good things that make this time of year special. You can use one as inspiration for a personal message or share it with a friend.
General Thanksgiving Quotes
“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” -Dalai Lama
“Thanksgiving after all, is a word of action.” -W.J. Cameron
“We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.” -Anonymous
“Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make everyday a holiday in which you celebrate just living.” – Amanda Bradley
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” -Anonymous
“Forever on Thanksgiving Day the heart will find the pathway home.” -Wilbur D. Nesbit
“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
“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
“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
“Each day I am thankful for nights that turned into mornings, friends that turned into family, dreams that turned into reality and likes that turned into love. Most importantly though, I am thankful for you today and everyday.” -Anonymous
Inspirational Thanksgiving Quotes
“I am grateful for what I am and have. My Thanksgiving is perpetual.” -Henry David Thoreau
“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
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” -John F. Kennedy
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” -Melody Beattie
“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.” -Cicero
“Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.” -Anonymous
“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
“God gave you the gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you?” – William A. Ward
“Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” -William Arthur Ward
“Thanksgiving gives us a chance to reflect on our heavenly blessings and focus on a heart of gratitude.” – Unknown
“If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.” -W. Clement Stone
Funny Thanksgiving Quotes
“Thanksgiving. Bringing out the best in family dysfunction since 1863.” -Anonymous
“You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out.” -Jay Leno
“Toasted, roasted, baked and done! Hope your Thanksgiving is loads of fun.” -Anonymous
“I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage.” -Erma Bombeck
“The Thanksgiving tradition is, we overeat. ‘Hey, how about at Thanksgiving we just eat a lot?’ ‘But we do that every day!’ ‘Oh. What if we eat a lot with people that annoy us then?’” -Jim Gaffigan
“This Thanksgiving, cherish the time spent with your family as a reminder of why you moved very far away from your family.” -Anonymous
“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.”-Anonymous
“This Thanksgiving I hope you’re able to avoid the tragedy of the different foods on your plate touching one another.” – Anonymous
Thanksgiving Poems
If a simple greeting doesn’t feel quite right, a Thanksgiving poem can be a meaningful way to express gratitude.
For a sweet family tradition, invite everyone to choose a Thanksgiving poem or saying to read aloud during your celebration. Children can join in, too! Looking for even more age-friendly poems? My rhyming Thanksgiving poems for kids are a fun place to start. They could also read aloud from one of these adorable Thanksgiving books for kids.
Get in the holiday spirit and get the whole family involved! Have them choose their own favorite Thanksgiving quotes or one of these special Thanksgiving day poems to read aloud while you clear the dining room after the main dish.
Happy Thanksgiving Poem (author unknown)
Thanksgiving for people is…The morning sun and the setting moon, The cheerful bird and the dancing mood, The silent waters and the playful dunes, But more than that I cherish you.
Funny Thanksgiving Poem (author unknown)
May your stuffing be tasty. May your turkey plump, may your potatoes and gravy have nary a lump. May your yams be delicious, and your pies take the prize, and may your Thanksgiving dinner stay off your thighs.
The Harvest Moon by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
It is the Harvest Moon! On gilded vanes
And roofs of villages, on woodland crests
And their aerial neighborhoods of nests
Deserted, on the curtained window-panes
Of rooms where children sleep, on country lanes
And harvest-fields, its mystic splendor rests!
Gone are the birds that were our summer guests,
With the last sheaves return the laboring wains!
All things are symbols: the external shows
Of Nature have their image in the mind,
As flowers and fruits and falling of the leaves;
The song-birds leave us at the summer’s close,
Only the empty nests are left behind,
And pipings of the quail among the sheaves.
Thanksgiving by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
We ought to make the moments notes
Of happy, glad Thanksgiving;
The hours and days a silent phrase
Of music we are living.
And so the theme should swell and grow
As weeks and months pass o’er us,
And rise sublime at this good time,
A grand Thanksgiving chorus.
The Pumpkin by John Greenleaf Whittier
Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,
From North and from South comes the pilgrim and guest;
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored,
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before,
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?
Enjoying this list of things to say on Thanksgiving? You might also enjoy these Thanksgiving articles too:
- Easy Thanksgiving Turkey Injection Recipes
- How to Cook a Turkey in a Crockpot
- Free Printable Thanksgiving Activity Book for Toddlers
What can I say I’m thankful for on Thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is an important season for all of us to take a moment and remember the little things in life. Many families (ours included!) choose to go around the table during Thanksgiving celebrations to say what each person is thankful for/reflect on blessings of the past year.
Sometimes it’s hard to think of what to say on the spot, especially after a challenging year. If you need a little inspiration, here are 10 meaningful things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving. There’s no need to force a silver lining—choose what feels true to your own life:
- Family
Whether your family is your mom and dad, spouse, children or your siblings, many people are thankful for their family on Thanksgiving.
- Friends
For some of us, our friends are our true family. They get us through good times and bad. Having a supportive, impactful friendship is for sure something to be thankful for.
- Being able to be together
Gathered around the Thanksgiving table with friends and family you aren’t able to see as often? Give thanks for the ability to be together today!
- Your career or a new job
Having a new job is something to be celebrated, as is having a strong career that continues to grow and help you provide for your family.
- A roof over your head
Many people around the world do not have a permanent place to call home. For those of us who do, it is truly something to be grateful for.
- Furry friends
Animal lover searching for things to say on Thanksgiving? Give thanks for the pets in your life this year!
- Good health
Maybe you had a health scare earlier this year, or have a child who has recovered from an illness. Or perhaps you are just feeling lucky to be in healthy in general. Either way, good health is a wonderful thing to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.
- Growing family
Get married or engaged this year? Found out you’re pregnant, have been approved for an adoption or had a new baby join your crew? Give thanks for your growing family!
- Love
Love is truly the greatest of all things, and is something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving and every day.
- The delicious meal
How can you NOT be thankful for a fantastic feast on Thanksgiving?
Use this list as a starting place, and see how many things you can add!
Frequently Asked Questions About Thanksgiving Messages
What should I write in a short Thanksgiving card?
Start with “Happy Thanksgiving,” mention one thing you appreciate about the person, and close with warm wishes. Even two sincere sentences can make a thoughtful card.
What can I say instead of Happy Thanksgiving?
Try “Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving,” “Sending you love and gratitude today,” or “Hope your holiday is filled with good food and good company.” Choose the greeting that sounds most like you.
What is a heartfelt Thanksgiving message for a friend?
Tell your friend what their presence has meant to you this year. For example: “Thank you for making the hard days lighter and the happy days even better. I’m grateful for our friendship.”
What can I say at the Thanksgiving dinner table?
Keep it simple: thank the people who made the meal possible, mention a favorite memory from the past year, or invite everyone to share one little thing that made them smile. No speech required.
Final Thoughts on Things to Say on Thanksgiving
Finding things to say on Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be another task on your holiday to-do list. A thoughtful message, a favorite Thanksgiving quote, or a few simple words of sincere thanks are more than enough.
Whether your holiday is full of family gatherings or a quiet day at home, share your thanks in a way that feels natural. If you have kids, inviting them to name one person or small thing they appreciate can turn gratitude into a family tradition without making it a big production.
Which of these happy Thanksgiving quotes, inspirational Thanksgiving poems or Thanksgiving sayings was your favorite?
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