Thanksgiving cards may not have started with the Pilgrims, but today, they are part and parcel of the holiday. Here’s a chance to get some ideas for Thanksgiving sayings as you baste the turkey, set up the table, and get ready for one of the nicest evenings of the year.

A great thing about Thanksgiving is that it has come to be celebrated by people of many faiths, so you can really be creative with your Thanksgiving card sayings. If you’re stuck, or don’t have time to come up with your own, we invite you to pick from the following list of Thanksgiving greeting messages.

Thanksgiving Quotes from Famous Figures

Thanksgiving isn’t the only occasion for being thankful. Some people feel that way every day. Here are a few famous quotes about that all-important emotion:

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.”

Dalai Lama

“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

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.”

Cicero

“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

“The Thanksgiving tradition is, we overeat. ‘Hey, how about at Thanksgiving we just eat a lot?’ ‘But we do that every day!’ ‘Oh. What if we eat a lot with people that annoy us then?’”

Jim Gaffigan

“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

Thanksgiving QuotesFunny Thanksgiving Wishes

No Thanksgiving is complete without a lot of fun and merriment. Take a look at these humorous Thanksgiving greeting messages to get you in the mood.

  • It’s not the minutes spent at the table that put on weight, it’s the seconds.
  • Can a turkey jump higher than the Empire State Building? Yes. A building can’t jump at all!
  • Why did they let the turkey join the band? Because he had the drumsticks.
  • How many cooks does it take to stuff a turkey?  Only one, but you REALLY have to squeeze to get him in.
  • An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.
  • You are what you eat! That makes us all Turkeys.
  • Don’t think of it as “overeating” on Thanksgiving. Think of it as building energy for the biggest shopping day of the year!
  • May the turkey be plump and your tummy full. Or is it the other way around?

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey be plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

Thanksgiving Card SayingsSolemn Thanksgiving Greeting Messages

The root of the Thanksgiving holiday was a truly serious occasion. Here are a few Thanksgiving card sayings that inspire us to remember the gravity of the holiday.

“Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”

Psalms 50:14-15

“For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

“For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.”

2 Corinthians 4:15

“Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.”

Psalms 147:7-8

“It’s not happy people who are thankful, it’s thankful people who are happy.”

Unknown author 

Thanksgiving Card MessagesNow that You’ve Found a Thanksgiving Greeting

In addition to picking a heartfelt Thanksgiving card saying, you should also choose your favorite Thanksgiving photos and wrap them up in a Thanksgiving eCard or an invitation for Thanksgiving dinner, designed especially for the occasion! Smilebox is the only platform you’ll need to create, customize, and send a memorable Thanksgiving message. Visit Smilebox.com to learn more!