18 Thanksgiving Quotes To Make You Feel Thankful

Thanksgiving is a time, and maybe the only time for some, to be truly thankful for everything you have in life. To kick off the kind, thankful season, I wanted to share my favorite classic Thanksgiving quotes to make you feel grateful (and a few to make you chuckle). As a typical human being, I am definitely guilty of not being thankful every single day, all year round. All I can say is thank goodness Thanksgiving rolls around right before the holiday season. I think it’s the reason everyone becomes so instantly cheery, at least through the end of the year.

If your family is anything like mine, you will be asked this year, just like every year, what you are thankful for. I used to pull some random idea out of thin air, like being thankful for a job I love, or for my dog. Not this year. With these quotes in my back pocket, I plan to whip the best one out when it’s my turn at the Thanksgiving table. A touching quote followed by an “I’m so thankful for everyone here at this table.” BOOM. Thanksgiving win.

Even if you aren’t prepping this as a go-to list on Turkey Day, these quotes are the best way to remember what Thanksgiving is all about — being thankful, and eating and/or drinking way too much with family and friends. So as we look forward to Thanksgiving, look to these quotes to really get you in the mood before you stuff your face with all that delicious turkey.

1. “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” — Willie Nelson

2. “Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” — Margaret Cousins

3. “Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward

4. “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.” — W. Clement Stone

5. “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

6. “Thanksgiving dinners take 18 hours to prepare. They are consumed in 12 minutes. Halftimes take 12 minutes. This is not coincidence.” — Erma Bombeck

7. "When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty, my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup." — Sam Lefkowitz

8. “Thanksgiving, man. Not a good day to be my pants.” — Kevin James

9. “We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.” — John F. Kennedy

10. “Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” — Alphonse Karr

11. “The unthankful heart discovers no mercies; but the thankful heart will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings.” — Henry Ward Beecher

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

13. “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

14. “If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” — Frank W. Clarke

15. “When you give and carry out acts of kindness, it’s as though something inside your body responds and says, ‘Yes, this is how I ought to feel.’” — Rabbi Harold Kushner

16. “Thanksgiving is the day when you turn to another family member and say, 'How long has Mom been drinking like this?' My Mom, after six Bloody Marys looks at the turkey and goes, 'Here, kitty, kitty.'” — David Letterman

17. “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” — Melody Beattie

18. “There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.” — O. Henry

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

For more Thanksgiving ideas, check out Bustle on YouTube.

Images: Satya Murthy, cea +, Anthony Quintano, Mike Licht, Darya Pino, Goedeker’s, Stacy/Flickr