65 Thanksgiving and Gratitude Quotes (Free to Share as Images)

Gratitude quote image by Melody Beattie: Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.

Thanksgiving is the one day of the year built entirely around saying thank you. But finding the right words can be harder than cooking the turkey.

That's why we've gathered 65 of the best Thanksgiving and gratitude quotes in one place. You'll find short quotes for captions, heartfelt lines for cards, funny ones for the family group chat, and classic words from writers and thinkers who understood gratitude long before it became a hashtag.

Found one you love? Turn it into a beautiful image in seconds with our free quote maker. No signup, no watermark.

Table of Contents

Short Gratitude Quotes

Short quotes work best on images: they're easy to read on a phone screen and leave room for a great background.

  1. "Gratitude is the memory of the heart." — Jean-Baptiste Massieu

  2. "Joy is the simplest form of gratitude." — Karl Barth

  3. "Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty." — Doris Day

  4. "Gratitude is the sign of noble souls." — Aesop

  5. "Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot." — Hausa proverb

  6. "When you drink the water, remember the spring." — Chinese proverb

  7. "An attitude of gratitude brings great things." — Yogi Bhajan

  8. "'Thank you' is the best prayer that anyone could say." — Alice Walker

  9. "The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest." — William Blake

  10. "Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions." — Zig Ziglar

Inspirational Thanksgiving Quotes

These quotes remind us that Thanksgiving is more than a meal. It's a mindset worth carrying all year.

  1. "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

  2. "Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action." — W. J. Cameron

  3. "Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving." — W. T. Purkiser

  4. "Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow." — Edward Sandford Martin

  5. "Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." — William Arthur Ward

  6. "I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual." — Henry David Thoreau

  7. "Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more." — Melody Beattie

  8. "When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around." — Willie Nelson

  9. "The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate." — Oprah Winfrey

  10. "This is a wonderful day. I've never seen this one before." — Maya Angelou

Classic Gratitude Quotes from Great Thinkers

Philosophers and writers have been praising gratitude for over 2,000 years. These timeless lines look especially elegant with a serif font and a simple background.

  1. "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." — Cicero

  2. "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." — Epictetus

  3. "Appreciation is a wonderful thing: it makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." — Voltaire

  4. "I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." — G. K. Chesterton

  5. "The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude." — Friedrich Nietzsche

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

  7. "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." — Thornton Wilder

  8. "Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses." — Alphonse Karr

  9. "Thou that hast given so much to me, give one thing more: a grateful heart." — George Herbert

  10. "In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich." — Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Quotes About Family, Friends and Togetherness

Thanksgiving is really about the people around the table. Send one of these to someone you're grateful for, or put it on a card or place setting.

  1. "Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." — Marcel Proust

  2. "I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new." — Ralph Waldo Emerson

  3. "At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us." — Albert Schweitzer

  4. "Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other." — Randy Pausch

  5. "Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." — William Arthur Ward

  6. "We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude." — Cynthia Ozick

  7. "Over the river, and through the wood, to Grandfather's house we go." — Lydia Maria Child

  8. "Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family." — Anthony Brandt

Funny Thanksgiving Quotes

Not every post has to be deep. These are perfect for the family group chat or a lighthearted Instagram story.

  1. "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

  2. "Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence." — Erma Bombeck

  3. "My cooking is so bad my kids thought Thanksgiving was to commemorate Pearl Harbor." — Phyllis Diller

  4. "An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day." — Irv Kupcinet

  5. "You can tell you ate too much for Thanksgiving when you have to let your bathrobe out." — Jay Leno

  6. "Thanksgiving is so called because we are all so thankful that it only comes once a year." — P. J. O'Rourke

Thanksgiving Quotes from History

Several US presidents wrote official Thanksgiving proclamations, and their words still hold up today, alongside one of history's most famous voices on gratitude.

  1. "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, Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1963

  2. "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

  3. "It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People." — Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1863

  4. "It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor." — George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1789

  5. "So much has been given to me; I have not time to ponder over that which has been denied." — Helen Keller

Quotes for a Grateful Mindset

Gratitude isn't only for one Thursday in November. These quotes are great for daily reminders, journals, or a phone wallpaper.

  1. "Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance." — Eckhart Tolle

  2. "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

  3. "It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful." — David Steindl-Rast

  4. "The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness." — Dalai Lama

  5. "Trade your expectation for appreciation and the world changes instantly." — Tony Robbins

  6. "Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things." — Robert Brault

Short Thanksgiving Captions for Instagram

Need something quick and original? These short captions are ours, so use them freely, with no credit needed. They work as a caption under a photo or as the text on a quote image.

  1. Grateful, thankful, and full of pie.

  2. Counting blessings, not calories.

  3. A table full of food, a heart full of thanks.

  4. Gather. Give thanks. Repeat.

  5. Thankful for the people who make every table feel like home.

  6. Good food, good people, grateful heart.

  7. Today's mood: gravy and gratitude.

  8. Less hustle, more gratitude.

  9. Pass the pie and the good vibes.

  10. Grateful for every seat at this table.

How to Turn These Quotes into Images

You can turn any quote on this page into a shareable image in under a minute with QuotesMaker. It's free, needs no signup, and adds no watermark.

  1. Copy your quote. Pick a quote from the list above and paste it into the quote editor, along with the author's name.

  2. Choose a template. Start from a ready-made style. Elegant and Editorial suit classic quotes; Bold works well for funny ones.

  3. Give it an autumn feel. Use warm colors like burnt orange, deep red, mustard yellow and cream. Pair them with a serif font for a cozy, classic look.

  4. Download and share. Save the image and post it to Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, or WhatsApp, or print it for a card.

Quick design tips

  • Keep longer quotes on simple backgrounds so the text stays readable.

  • Use a vertical format for Pinterest and Instagram. Tall images take up more of the screen.

  • Always include the author's name. It adds credibility and respects the original writer.

Want more design advice? Read our guide to fonts and colors for quote images and the common mistakes to avoid.

Ways to Use These Quotes This Thanksgiving

  • Social media posts: share a quote image on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest on Thanksgiving morning.

  • Cards and notes: add a quote to a thank-you card for a host, teacher, or coworker.

  • Place cards: print a different quote at each seat as a conversation starter.

  • Toasts: open your Thanksgiving toast with a line from the classic quotes section.

  • Group chats: send a funny quote to the family before everyone arrives.

  • Classroom displays: teachers can print gratitude quotes for a November bulletin board.

  • Gratitude journals: write one quote a day through November and reflect on it.

Start Sharing Gratitude Today

The best way to say thank you is to actually say it. Pick your favorite quote from this list, make it your own, and share it with someone who matters to you.

Create your free Thanksgiving quote image now → It takes less than a minute, and no signup is needed.

Looking for more inspiration all year round? Browse our inspirational quotes or check the Quote of the Day.