55 Thanksgiving Quotes About Family, Friends and Food

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Published Nov 21, 2022

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While we usually like to take it easy on the #motivationalquotes, the stress of the holidays calls for some heavy-duty inspiration. Let these tidbits of wisdom from our favorite fictional and IRL minds soothe you while you’re prepping those aperitivos. From Joey Tribiani to Maya Angelou, read on for 55 of the best happy Thanksgiving quotes.

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, consider donating to groups that support Native Americans such as The Association of American Indian Affairs and the Native American Heritage Association.

1. “There Is One Day That Is Ours. Thanksgiving Day Is The One Day That Is Purely American.” - O. Henry

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2. “I Can’t Cook A Thanksgiving Dinner. All I Can Make Is Cold Cereal And Maybe Toast.” - Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

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3. “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

4. “Thanksgiving, Man. Not A Good Day To Be My Pants.” - Kevin James

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5. “Gratitude Can Transform Common Days Into Thanksgivings, Turn Routine Jobs Into Joy, And Change Ordinary Opportunities Into Blessings.” - William Arthur Ward

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6. “You Can’t Have Thanksgiving Without Turkey. That's Like Fourth Of July Without Apple Pie, Or Friday With No Two Pizzas.” - Joey Tribbiani, Friends

7. “A Thought About Thanksgiving Day: Once, There Was This Day When...everyone Realized They Needed Each Other.” - April Burns, Pieces Of April

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8. “Here’s A Tip: Don’t Cook Thanksgiving Dinner For Five People In 14 Hours. Here’s Another Tip: Don’t Ask A Guy Out On A First Date On The Least Sexy Holiday In America.” - Schmidt, New Girl

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9. “Be Present In All Things And Thankful For All Things.” - Maya Angelou

10. “Vegetables Are A Must On A Diet. I Suggest Carrot Cake, Zucchini Bread And Pumpkin Pie.” - Jim Davis

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11. “The Thankstini: A Fun Ad Delicious New Novelty Drink I Invented. Cranberry Juice, Potato Vodka And A Bouillon Cube. Tastes Just Like A Turkey Dinner.” - Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother

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12. “Do you know what I dream about when I dream about Thanksgiving? I dream about eating so much deliciousness that all the blood rushes to my head and I pass out at the table. Please don’t deny me that.” - Seth Cohen, The O.C.

13. “He Who Thanks But With The Lips Thanks But In Part; The Full, The True Thanksgiving Comes From The Heart.” - J.a. Shedd

14. “If You Think About A Thanksgiving Dinner, It’s Really Like Making A Large Chicken.” - Ina Garten

15. “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

16. “Reflect Upon Your Present Blessings, Of Which Every Man Has Plenty; Not On Your Past Misfortunes, Of Which All Men Have Some.” - Charles Dickens

17. “I Like Football. I Find It’s An Exciting Strategic Game. It’s A Great Way To Avoid Conversation With Your Family At Thanksgiving.” - Craig Ferguson

18. “You Can Tell You Ate Too Much For Thanksgiving When You Have To Let Your Bathrobe Out.” - Jay Leno

19. “It’s Not Too Much Food. This Is What We’ve Been Training For Our Whole Lives. This Is Our Destiny, This Is Our Finest Hour.” - Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls

20. “Now Is No Time To Think Of What You Do Not Have. Think Of What You Can Do With What There Is.” - Ernest Hemingway

21. “On Thanksgiving Day We Acknowledge Our Dependence.” - William Jennings Bryan

22. “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

23. “When I Started Counting My Blessings, My Whole Life Turned Around.” - Willie Nelson

24. “Good Mashed Potato Is One Of The Great Luxuries Of Life.” - Lindsey Bareham

25. “Showing Gratitude Is One Of The Simplest Yet Most Powerful Things Humans Can Do For Each Other.” - Randy Pausch

26. “Appreciation Can Change A Day, Even Change A Life. Your Willingness To Put It Into Words Is All That Is Necessary.” - Margaret Cousins

27. “No One Has Ever Become Poor By Giving.” - Anne Frank

28. “The More You Practice The Art Of Thankfulness, The More You Have To Be Thankful For.” - Norman Vincent Peale

29. “Forever On Thanksgiving Day The Heart Will Find The Pathway Home.” - Wilbur D. Nesbit

30. “A New Survey Found That 80 Percent Of Men Claim They Help Cook Thanksgiving Dinner. Which Makes Sense, When You Hear Them Consider Saying 'that Smells Good' To Be Helping.” - Jimmy Fallon

31. “Coexistence: What The Farmer Does With The Turkey—until Thanksgiving.” - Mike Connolly

32. “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

33. “A Thankful Heart Is Not Only The Greatest Virtue, But The Parent Of All The Other Virtues.” - Cicero

34. “We Must Find Time To Stop And Thank The People Who Make A Difference In Our Lives.” - John F. Kennedy

35. “I’m From Canada, So Thanksgiving To Me Is Just Thursday With More Food. And I’m Thankful For That.” - Howie Mandel

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36. “I Try Very Hard To Be Grateful And Appreciative All Year, But It Doesn't Hurt To Have One Dedicated Day.” - Sarah Michelle Gellar

37. “The Turkey. The Sweet Potatoes. The Stuffing. The Pumpkin Pie. Is There Anything Else We All Can Agree So Vehemently About? I Don’t Think So.” - Nora Ephron

38. “We Make A Living By What We Get, But We Make A Life By What We Give.” - Winston Churchill

39. “It’s Thanksgiving And We Should Not Want To Be Together, Together!” - Rachel Green, ‘friends’

40. “We’re Just Gonna Watch Football, Drink Beer, And Then We’re Going To Best Buy Later For Black Friday.” - Nick, ‘new Girl’

41. “My Father Was A Stern Man. He Forbade Us To Participate In Any Activities That He Thought Were Associated With The Common Man. The Thanksgiving Day Parade Was First On The List.” - Mr. Pitt, Seinfeld

42. “You’re Gonna Give Someone A Perfect Thanksgiving, You Gotta Cook A Nice, Moist Turkey. And I Did. Well, Me And A Little Friend I Like To Call The Aluminum Foil Tent.” – Will, Will & Grace

43. “OK, Who Wants White Meat? Scratch That, We Have Dark Meat Or Really Dark Meat.” - Danny Tanner, Full House

44. “Gratitude Opens The Door, The Power, The Wisdom, The Creativity Of The Universe. You Open The Door Through Gratitude.” - Deepak Chopra

45. “Stuffing Is My Favorite Food In The World! I Actually Have Been Known To Go Buy Stuffing And Make It In The Middle Of Summer.” - Emma Roberts

46. “I Try To Start Every Day And End Every Day By Taking A Moment To Be Grateful.” - Olivia Wilde

47. “Gratitude Is The Closest Thing To Beauty Manifested In An Emotion.” - Mindy Kaling

48. “I Just Really Feel Like People Feel Like They’re Forced To Eat Turkey, And Nobody Really Enjoys It. Surprise Everyone. Serve Them Chicken, And They’ll Be Much Happier.” - Chrissy Teigen

49. “My Mom Will Not Let You Cook One Thing Or Be Near The Kitchen. It's Her Masterpiece.” - Olivia Munn

50. “I Must Say That I Think This Holiday Is Beautiful. All About Gratefulness And Togetherness. We Should Make It An International Holiday.” - Gal Gadot

51. "Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind." – Lionel Hampton

52. "I am happy because I'm grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy.” – Will Arnett

53. "Thanksgiving is the meal we aspire for other meals to resemble.” – Jonathan Safran Foer

54. "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

55. “A moment of gratitude makes a difference in your attitude.” – Bruce Wilkinson

Rachel Bowie

Senior Director, Special Projects and Royals

Writes and produces family, fashion, wellness, relationships, money and royals content
Podcast co-host and published author with a book about the British Royal Family
Studied sociology at Wheaton College and received a masters degree in journalism from Emerson College

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Stephanie Sengwe

Resident Hufflepuff, Beyonce historian, self-proclaimed tea sommelier

Steph is a native of Zimbabwe who is both enamored and genuinely baffled by the concept of silent letters. From 2020 to 2022, she served as Associate Editor at PureWow covering SEO content. That includes anything from finding the best lightweight foundations and compiling an expansive list of the best dog costumes to giving you a thorough breakdown on how to clean your sponge.

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