A good Thanksgiving greeting names something specific you are grateful for and keeps the tone matched to who you are sending it to, whether that is family at the table, a coworker across the office, or a friend hosting Friendsgiving. Below are 100+ greetings for Thanksgiving sorted by recipient and tone.

Whether you want something heartfelt, funny, short enough for a text, or rooted in faith, you will find it here, along with a few historical quotes and honest guidance on when a card beats a text. There is also a section just for the exact phrase a happy Thanksgiving, since that is often all a busy year leaves room for. If you are sending wishes on behalf of a whole family or team, a group Thanksgiving card lets everyone add their own note in one place instead of everyone texting separately.

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What to Write in a Thanksgiving Card

Start with what you are actually thankful for this year, not a generic line about the season. Naming one real thing, a person, a moment, a habit, is what makes a Thanksgiving message land instead of blending into every other card someone receives that week.

A few things that help every time.

  • Name one specific thing you are grateful for, not just everything
  • Mention a shared memory from the past year if you have one
  • Match the length to how close you are to the person
  • Add a wish for their holiday, not just a thank you
  • Save the jokes for people who know your sense of humor
  • Lead with the person, not the food or the football
  • Say the wish out loud before you write it down
  • Read the message out loud before you send it

None of this needs to take long. A short, specific line beats a long, generic one every time, and the people you send it to will notice the difference. Once you know the tone you want, pick the section below that fits who you are writing to.

Thanksgiving Messages for Family

Thanksgiving is family’s holiday, so these messages lean warm and personal. They work for the table, a card mailed ahead of time, or a note tucked under a plate. A few also work well for extended family, or for parents and siblings specifically.

  1. Thankful doesn’t begin to cover what our family means to me. Happy Thanksgiving to the people who make every year worth celebrating.
  2. Grateful for another year around this table with you. Happy Thanksgiving, family.
  3. Thanksgiving means so much more when it means being with you. Love you all.
  4. To the family that shows up for me every single time, happy Thanksgiving. I am grateful for every one of you.
  5. Mom and Dad, thank you for a lifetime of Thanksgivings and everything else. Happy Thanksgiving.
  6. To my siblings, near or far, thank you for still showing up for family dinner. Happy Thanksgiving.
  7. This year I am especially thankful for family video calls that make the miles feel shorter. Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you are.
  8. Wishing my aunts, uncles, and cousins a Thanksgiving as warm as our family gatherings always are.
  9. Grateful for the family I was born into and the traditions we keep every November. Happy Thanksgiving.
  10. Happy Thanksgiving to the family that turns leftovers into another excuse to get together.
  11. Thank you for a childhood full of Thanksgivings I still think about. Happy Thanksgiving, Mom and Dad.
  12. Sending love to my whole extended family this Thanksgiving, even the ones who argue about the stuffing recipe every year.
  13. Wishing you a Thanksgiving filled with good food, easy laughter, and the people who know you best.
  14. Family is the best thing I have to be thankful for, today and every day. Happy Thanksgiving.
  15. Happy Thanksgiving to the family that will fight about the parade lineup and still sit down together anyway.
  16. Grateful for grandparents who still tell the same Thanksgiving stories every year, and for a family that still laughs at them.

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Sending these to family who live too far to visit this year? A Thanksgiving card for family lets everyone sign one card online, so your thanks lands even if you are not gathered around the same table.

Thanksgiving Wishes for Friends and Friendsgiving

Friends deserve their own Thanksgiving wishes too, especially if Friendsgiving has become its own tradition. These work for a group text, a card, or the toast before dinner.

  1. Happy Friendsgiving to the family I got to choose. So grateful for you.
  2. Thankful for friends who feel like family, especially around this table. Happy Thanksgiving.
  3. This Friendsgiving is proof that the best families are not always related. Love you all.
  4. Grateful for a friend group that shows up with a dish, a bottle of wine, and terrible jokes every single year.
  5. Happy Thanksgiving to my favorite people. I am lucky to call you friends.
  6. Wishing you a Friendsgiving as good as the friendship. Happy Thanksgiving.
  7. Thankful for friends who make every ordinary Thursday feel like a celebration.
  8. To the friend who always hosts, thank you for making Friendsgiving happen every year. We appreciate you more than the group chat shows.
  9. Happy Thanksgiving to the friends who became my chosen family somewhere along the way.
  10. Grateful for a friendship that survived years, distance, and my questionable cooking at every potluck.
  11. This Thanksgiving I am thankful for friends who remember my order, my birthday, and my bad days. Happy Thanksgiving.
  12. Wishing my whole friend group a Thanksgiving full of good food and better company.
  13. Happy Friendsgiving to the group chat that somehow still shows up for each other every year.
  14. Grateful for friends who invite me over even when my dish is the same one every single year.

Thanksgiving Wishes for Coworkers, Your Boss, and Clients

Thanksgiving wishes for coworkers stay a notch more professional, but they can still be genuinely warm. These work for a team email, a card in the break room, or a note to a client you want to thank for the year.

  1. Happy Thanksgiving to a team that makes even the busy weeks feel manageable. Grateful for all of you.
  2. Wishing you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving. Thank you for another great year of working together.
  3. Grateful for coworkers who make this job so much better. Happy Thanksgiving.
  4. Happy Thanksgiving to a boss who leads with patience and actually means it. Thank you for everything this year.
  5. Thankful for a team that has each other’s back, deadline after deadline. Happy Thanksgiving.
  6. Wishing our clients a Happy Thanksgiving and a well-earned break. Thank you for trusting us with your business this year.
  7. Happy Thanksgiving to the coworker who always keeps the office snack drawer stocked. We notice, and we are grateful.
  8. Thank you for another year of great partnership. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us.
  9. Grateful for a workplace that feels a little like family, most days anyway. Happy Thanksgiving, team.
  10. Happy Thanksgiving to a manager who makes this job easier every single day. Thank you for your guidance this year.
  11. Wishing our whole team a restful Thanksgiving. You earned it.
  12. Thankful for clients who make this work worth doing. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
  13. Happy Thanksgiving to the coworkers who turned a job into a place I actually enjoy showing up to.
  14. Wishing our vendors and partners a Happy Thanksgiving. We appreciate everything you bring to this partnership.
  15. Happy Thanksgiving to the intern who asked all the right questions this year. You are going to do great things.

Would you like to send your Thanksgiving wishes together as a group? A group Thanksgiving card lets the whole team, office, or client account add a note in one place, so your thanks lands as one thoughtful card instead of a dozen separate emails. Everyone adds their note online with GreetPool, on their own time, and it arrives ready to send.

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Thanksgiving Wishes for a Partner or Spouse

A Thanksgiving message for a partner can be a little more personal than the rest of the table hears. These work for a card, a note left on the counter, or something said out loud before everyone else arrives.

  1. Every year I am more thankful that I get to spend Thanksgiving with you. Happy Thanksgiving, love.
  2. Grateful for a partner who makes even hosting Thanksgiving fun. I love you.
  3. Happy Thanksgiving to the person I am most thankful for, today and always.
  4. Thankful for you, our home, and every ordinary Thursday that feels like this one.
  5. You make every holiday better just by being in it. Happy Thanksgiving, my love.
  6. Grateful for a life built with you, one Thanksgiving at a time.
  7. Happy Thanksgiving to my favorite person to argue about the turkey timer with.
  8. Every year I fall more in love watching you host this holiday. Happy Thanksgiving.
  9. Grateful for a partner who still laughs at my cooking attempts and eats them anyway. Happy Thanksgiving, love.

A Happy Thanksgiving Wishes for Everyone

Sometimes you need one line that works for anyone, a group text, a social caption, or a gift tag on a pumpkin pie. These general Thanksgiving wishes fit almost any relationship.

  1. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving filled with good food and better company.
  2. A Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone gathered at your table this year.
  3. Grateful for you and hoping your Thanksgiving is as wonderful as you are.
  4. Happy Thanksgiving. May your day be full of good food, easy laughs, and people you love.
  5. Wishing you all the warmth of the season and a very Happy Thanksgiving.
  6. Sending you gratitude and good wishes this Thanksgiving, wherever you are celebrating.
  7. Happy Thanksgiving. Hope your day is exactly as cozy as you want it to be.
  8. A Happy Thanksgiving to you, with thanks for being part of my year.
  9. A Happy Thanksgiving to you and everyone who makes your year a little brighter.
  10. Sending a Happy Thanksgiving your way, along with all the thanks I owe you.

Short Thanksgiving wishes for a text or caption

For a quick text, a group chat, or a caption, keep it to one line.

  1. Happy Thanksgiving!
  2. So thankful for you today.
  3. Eat well, rest well, happy Thanksgiving.
  4. Grateful for you this Thanksgiving and always.
  5. Wishing you all the thanks and pie.
  6. Happy Thanksgiving from my table to yours.

Funny Thanksgiving Wishes

Once you know someone can take a joke, a funny Thanksgiving wish is a fun way to skip the mushy stuff. These lean on turkey puns and the honest chaos of the holiday.

  1. Gobble til you wobble. Happy Thanksgiving!
  2. You hold the tur-key to my heart. Happy Thanksgiving.
  3. Happy Thanksgiving to the only day it is socially acceptable to nap in front of your whole family.
  4. Wishing you a stress-free oven, a working meat thermometer, and a Thanksgiving where nobody brings up politics.
  5. Happy Thanksgiving! May your stretchy pants do their job today.
  6. This Thanksgiving, may your gravy be lump-free and your uncle’s opinions stay to himself.
  7. Happy Thanksgiving from someone who is already thinking about the leftovers.
  8. Sending you a Thanksgiving where the turkey is done on time and nobody fights over the remote after.
  9. Happy Thanksgiving to my favorite person to fake a smile with when the extended family gets loud.
  10. Wishing you a Thanksgiving with zero dry turkey and at least one nap.
  11. Happy Thanksgiving! May your Black Friday shopping list be shorter than your gratitude list.
  12. This Thanksgiving I am mostly thankful for pie. And you, but mostly pie.
  13. Happy Thanksgiving to the family member who always asks when I am getting married. Pass the potatoes.
  14. Wishing you a Thanksgiving where the Wi-Fi holds up long enough to avoid actual conversation with your relatives.
  15. Happy Thanksgiving! May your leftovers outlast your motivation to cook again this week.

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Religious and Faith-Based Thanksgiving Blessings

For friends and family who lead with faith, a Thanksgiving message can lean on gratitude as a spiritual practice rather than just a seasonal mood. A short blessing or a line of scripture often says it best.

  1. Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. A line often quoted from 1 Thessalonians 5:18.
  2. Wishing you a Thanksgiving blessed with faith, family, and gratitude for all God has given you.
  3. May your table be full and your heart even fuller this Thanksgiving. God bless you and yours.
  4. Thankful for God’s grace this year and every year. Happy Thanksgiving.
  5. May this Thanksgiving remind us that every good gift comes from above. Blessings to you and your family.
  6. Praying your Thanksgiving is filled with peace, good health, and the people you love most.
  7. Grateful for God’s faithfulness this year, in the hard seasons and the good ones. Happy Thanksgiving.
  8. May God bless your table and your year ahead. Happy Thanksgiving.
  9. Every good gift comes from above, and I am thankful for you as one of mine. A thought inspired by James 1:17.
  10. Wishing you a Thanksgiving rooted in faith, gratitude, and the people God has placed around your table.

Thanksgiving Quotes from Historical Figures

A well-chosen quote can say what you are feeling better than your own words. These work paired with a personal note in a card, a toast, or a caption.

  1. Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. Melody Beattie wrote this about the power of thankfulness.
  2. President Abraham Lincoln called Americans in 1863 to observe Thanksgiving with one heart and one voice.
  3. 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 said this about gratitude in action.
  4. Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. A line attributed to the Roman statesman Cicero.
  5. Oprah Winfrey has said be thankful for what you have, you will end up having more.
  6. Thanksgiving, after all, is a word of action. W.J. Cameron wrote this in an early Thanksgiving radio address.
  7. President George Washington issued the first national Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789, calling it a day to be devoted to giving thanks.
  8. We ought to give thanks for the privilege of living in this beautiful world. Naturalist John Burroughs wrote this about gratitude for everyday life.
  9. Thanksgiving is a time of togetherness and gratitude. Author Nancy DeVault used this line to describe the heart of the holiday.
  10. Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Novelist Marcel Proust wrote this about the people worth thanking.
  11. Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul. Preacher Henry Ward Beecher used this line to describe thankfulness at its best.
  12. This is a wonderful day. I have never seen this one before. A line often credited to author Maya Angelou about greeting each day, including Thanksgiving, with fresh gratitude.

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Should You Send a Card, a Text, or a Group Card?

Not every Thanksgiving wish needs a card, and not every card needs to come from just one person. A quick text works for someone you will see at the table anyway. It is fast, it is casual, and nobody expects more than that from a text.

A card is worth the extra effort for someone far away, or when the words matter more than usual, like a message to a boss, a client, or an aging relative who still keeps every card you have ever sent. Handing over a card also gives the moment weight a text just cannot carry, even a short one.

When the wish is coming from more than one person, a group card beats a chain of separate texts every time. Nobody wants to scroll through ten different happy Thanksgiving texts from the same team, and a card that arrives half signed feels unfinished. A group card arrives as one thoughtful message instead, and everyone still gets to add their own line, on their own time, without waiting on everyone else to be free at once.

If you are sending thanks on behalf of a family, a team, or a whole friend group this year, a Thanksgiving card everyone can sign is worth setting up before the holiday gets busy.

Wishing You a Happy Thanksgiving

Whatever you write this year, the details are what make a Thanksgiving greeting feel real. Name what you are actually grateful for, match the tone to the person, and let the words do the work a card is meant to do. It does not have to be long, and it does not have to be perfect. It just has to sound like you.

Create your Thanksgiving card on GreetPool and send your thanks to everyone on your list, all in one place.

Once the holidays get rolling, you might also want a head start on Christmas wishes to write in a card, more ideas for thank you card messages, or the golden rules for sending holiday cards this season.

← More message ideas. Browse what to write for every occasion, by recipient and tone.

Frequently asked questions

What do you write in a Thanksgiving card?

Name one specific thing you are grateful for this year instead of a generic line about the season. Mention the person directly, add a wish for their holiday, and keep it warm and short. A line like grateful for another year with family like you, happy Thanksgiving reads as genuine because it is personal.

What is a good short Thanksgiving wish for a text or social post?

Short works best when you keep it warm and specific. So thankful for you today or eat well, rest well, happy Thanksgiving both fit a quick text, a group chat, or a caption without feeling generic.

What is a good Thanksgiving message for coworkers or a boss?

Keep it a notch more professional than a message to family, but still genuine. Thank them for something specific about the year, not just the holiday. A line like grateful for a team that has each other's back, happy Thanksgiving works for an email, a card, or a note in the break room.

What is a religious Thanksgiving blessing to include in a card?

For someone who leads with faith, a short scripture line or blessing fits well. Give thanks in all circumstances, from 1 Thessalonians 5:18, or a simple God bless your table and your year ahead both keep the focus on gratitude as a spiritual practice.

What is a funny Thanksgiving wish for a card?

Turkey puns and the honest chaos of the holiday both work well for someone who can take a joke. Gobble til you wobble, happy Thanksgiving or a line about stretchy pants and dry turkey both land better than a generic joke, since they are specific to the day.

Should you send a Thanksgiving card, a text, or a group card?

A text works for someone you will see at the table anyway. A card is worth the extra effort for someone far away or when the words matter more, like a message to a boss or an aging relative. When the wish comes from more than one person, a group card everyone can sign beats a chain of separate texts.