Thanksgiving Wishes, Quotes, and Prayers

Thanksgiving Wishes

These are examples of what to write in a Thanksgiving card. Use these messages to send your sincere thoughts.
  • I couldn't be more thankful this Thanksgiving because I have amazing friends like you.
  • I hope your Thanksgiving is yummy, delicious, and tasty. 
  • We have much for which to be thankful. Mostly we can be thankful for the important people in our lives.
  • It's not just another day in November. Thanksgiving is so much more. It's about the food, family, friends, and fun.
  • Thank goodness we have a holiday about being thankful. It gives me the opportunity to let you know how much I appreciate you.
  • I'm wishing you a happy holiday. It's the best holiday of the year!
  • I hope you find yourself blessed beyond your necessities this year. I am grateful for friends like you!
  • It's eating season, and there's no calorie limit. It's Thanksgiving!
  • This Thanksgiving we wanted to send out cards to all the people we are thankful for having in our lives. You are one of those people.
  • If there were no Thanksgiving day, some people could go an entire year without being grateful or expressing gratitude. I’m thankful for Thanksgiving day.
  • Thanksgiving day is something we should strive to live every day of the year.
  • Our country is so blessed that we have a day devoted to gratitude. Be blessed and grateful this Thanksgiving.
  • Gratitude is a wonderful reason to have a meal with family. I only wish Thanksgiving would come more often.
  • You are one of my favorite things to be grateful for on Thanksgiving.

Funny Thanksgiving Messages

Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to be a little silly. These are some funny thanksgiving wishes to tickle the wishbone of your favorite turkeys.
  • Don't eat too much... said no one ever on Thanksgiving!
  • Even though Thanksgiving only comes once a year, it’s amazing how many pounds we all gain from that one dinner.
  • The thing most of us are thankful for at Thanksgiving is not having to work on that day.
  • Don’t be a chicken, have a blast this Thanksgiving.
  • Thanksgiving is the best holiday! It’s all the calories without all the hassle.
  • I love Thanksgiving, because it’s all the family fun at half the cost of Christmas.
  • The turkey is probably the only one who will be at your table this year that can’t say he is grateful for anything. 
  • If we are a nation that is grateful, then we probably wouldn’t have killed off masses of Native Americans or had to create a holiday called “Thanksgiving” just to  feel good about ourselves. I am still grateful for what freedoms I still have left in America.
  • If there’s a short supply of turkeys this Thanksgiving, we could all eat geese.  And that way we would kill two birds with one stone by getting rid of all of the goose poop all around the sidewalks.
  • There are way more geese around than Turkeys, so maybe we should start making goose for Thanksgiving dinner to cut back on the population.

Thanksgiving Quotes

Sometimes it's more fun to use someone's quote to communicate something that you are thinking. This is a collection of some of the best quotes that are directly related to Thanksgiving. The funny quotes are especially good! 
  • "There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American." -O. Henry
  • "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
  • "Thanksgiving is a time when the world gets to see just how blessed and how workable the Christian system is. The emphasis is not on giving or buying, but on being thankful and expressing that appreciation to God and to one another." -John Clayton
  • "He who thanks but with the lips, Thanks but in part; The full, the true Thanksgiving, Comes from the heart." -J.A. Shedd
  • "Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants." -Kevin James
  • "An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day." -Irv Kupcinet
  • "Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way." -Native American Saying
  • "The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest." -William Blake

Examples of a Thanksgiving Prayer

Being called on to say the Thanksgiving prayer is an honor that may or may not be welcomed. Praying in front of other people can be intimidating, even if you have an active prayer life. The vocabulary and flow of a prayer can feel different than a normal conversation, because it is to God. However, the best advice is to talk just as you would if God was your cousin Carol, sitting at the Thanksgiving table.

Plan in advance what themes you want to get across in your prayer, but don't try to memorize it. Memorized prayers will sound awkward and fake. So here are some types of themes to touch on for Thanksgiving prayers. Choose 2-3. That should be long enough without having to worry about the food getting cold.
  • "Thanks for the wonderful food"
  • "Please bless the food to nourish our bodies"
  • "Thanks for the people gathered around the table"
  • "Thanks for the many blessings bestowed upon us"
  • "Help us to be good stewards of what we've been given"
  • "Thanks for the freedom to celebrate and pray"
  • "Please continue to watch over our family and guide it"

Once you choose your themes, put them together in the order you think works best. Here's an example of a complete Thanksgiving dinner prayer:

"Lord, we come together today to celebrate the reasons we have to be thankful. We're thankful for many blessings you give us to meet our daily needs, and much more. We're thankful for the people who love us, both family and friends. And we're thankful for the sacrifices and freedoms that our military service people make to allow us opportunities like today. Thank you for your love that never fails and your grace that we don't deserve. Please bless this food and let it nourish our bodies. And please allow us to all get a good nap after filling up on turkey. Amen."

Notice that there is a little humor at the end of the prayer. This is totally up to you, but it is a fun way to close a prayer. Personalize the prayer to what you want to express. And remember that there is no minimum time. Just say what you want to say and be done.