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55 Thanksgiving Quotes About Family, Friends and Food

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.

45 Best Thanksgiving Movies the Whole Family Will Love


thanksgiving quotes family o henry

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

thanksgiving quotes family charlie brown

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

thanksgiving quotes family oprah winfrey1

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

thanksgiving quotes family kevin james

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

related 13 short books you can and should read over thanksgiving weekend william arthur ward

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

thanksgiving quotes family april burns

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

thanksgiving quotes family schmidt new girl1

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

thanksgiving quotes family maya angelous

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

thanksgiving quotes family jim davis

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

thanksgiving quotes family barney stinson

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

thanksgiving quote seth cohen from the oc

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.

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

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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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

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

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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

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

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

howie mandel thanksgiving quotes

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

sarah michelle gellar thanksgiving quotes

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

thanksgiving quotes nora ephron

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

thanksgiving quotes winston churchill

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

thanksgiving quotes rachel green

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

thanksgiving quotes new girl

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

thanksgiving quotes seinfeld

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

thanksgiving quotes will and grace

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

thanksgiving quotes full house

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

thanksgiving quotes deepak chopra

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

thankgiving quotes emma roberts

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

thanksgiving quotes olivia wilde

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

thanksgiving quotes mindy kaling

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

chrissy teigen thanksgiving quotes

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

thanksgiving quotes olivia munn

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

thanksgiving quotes gal gadot

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


thanksgiving quotes lionel hampton

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

thanksgiving quotes will arnett

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

thanksgiving quotes jonathan foer

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

thanksgiving quotes daniel humm

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

thanksgiving quotes bruce wilkinson

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



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