Thanksgiving

*Authors are unknown, unless otherwise noted.

An open home, an open heart, here grows a bountiful harvest.
~Judy Hand

I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
~Psalms 69:30

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.
~Psalms 106:1

Be ye thankful.
~Colossians 3:15

All we behold is full of blessings.
~William Wordsworth

The true essentials of a feast are only fun and feed.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Blessings brighten when we count them.
~Maltbie D. Babcock

Forever on Thanksgiving Day the heart will find the pathway home.
~Wilbur D. Nesbit

A thankful heart is a happy heart.
~From Veggie Tales

Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home.
~Henry Alford

The unthankful heart... discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings!
~Henry Ward Beecher

Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.
~Edward Sanford Martin

Seeing our Father in everything makes life one long Thanksgiving and gives a rest of heart.
~Hannah Whitall Smith

O Lord that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
~William Shakespeare

Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life... a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry
of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year - and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God.
~Ray Stannard Baker

He who thanks but with the lips
Thanks but in part;
The full, the true Thanksgiving
Comes from the heart.
~J.A. Shedd

O Thou who has given us so much, mercifully grant us one thing more - a grateful heart.
~George Herbert

Thank You, GOD, for everything
I've experienced here on earth--
Thank You for protecting me
from the moment of my birth--
And thank You for the beauty
around me everywhere,
The gentle rain and glistening dew,
the sunshine and the air,
The joyous gift of "feeling"
the soul's soft, whispering voice
That speaks to me from deep within
and makes my heart rejoice--
Oh, GOD, no words are great enough
to thank You for just living,
And that is why every day
is a day for real THANKSGIVING.
~Helen Steiner Rice

The joy of enjoying
And the fullness of living
Are found in the heart
That is filled with thanksgiving.
~Helen Steiner Rice

Be thankful for your blessings all:
the happy memories you recall;
For time, which every heartache mends,
And oh, be thankful for your friends.
~Edgar Guest

For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything thy goodness sends,
Father in Heaven,
we thank thee.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Give me the end of the year an' its fun
When most of the plannin' an' toilin' is done;
Bring all the wanderers home to the nest,
Let me sit down with the ones I love best,
Hear the old voices still ringin' with song,
See the old faces unblemished by wrong,
See the old table with all of its chairs
An' I'll put soul in my Thanksgivin' prayers.
~Edgar A. Guest

God, we thank you for this food
For rest and home and all things good
For wind and rain and sun above
But most of all for those we love.
~Robert Frost

A Thanksgiving Dinner
Take a turkey, stuff it fat,
Some of this and some of that.
Get some turnips, peel them well.
Cook a big squash in its shell.
Now potatoes, big and white,
Mash till they are soft and light.
Cranberries, so tart and sweet,
With the turkey we must eat.
Pickles-yes, and then, oh my!
For dessert a pumpkin pie,
Golden brown and spicy sweet.
What a fine Thanksgiving treat!
~Maude M. Grant

A Thanksgiving Thought
The day I give thanks for having a nose
Is Thanksgiving Day, for do you suppose
That Thanksgiving dinner would taste as good
If you couldn't smell it? I don't think it would.
Could apple pie baking - turkey that's basting
Not be for the smelling? Just be for tasting?
It's a cranberry-cinnamon-onion bouquet!
Be thankful for noses on Thanksgiving Day.
~Bobbi Katz

I Ate Too Much
I ate too much turkey,
I ate too much corn,
I ate too much pudding and pie,
I'm stuffed up with muffins,
and much too much stuffin'
I'm probably going to die.
I piled up my plate
and I ate and I ate
but I wish I had known when to stop,
for I'm so crammed with yams
sauces, gravies, and jams,
that my buttons are starting to pop.
I'm full of tomatoes,
and french-fried potatoes
my stomach is swollen and sore,
but there's still some dessert
so I guess it won't hurt
if I eat just a little bit more.
~Jack Pretlusky

Thanksgiving Day
Over the river and through the wood,
To Grandfather's house we go,
The horse knows the way
To carry the sleigh
Through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river and through the wood,
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes,
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.
Over the river and through the wood,
To have a first rate play,
Hear the bells ring,
"Ting-a-ling-ling"!
Hurrah for Thanksgiving day!
Over the river and through the wood,
Trot fast my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound!
For this is Thanksgiving Day.
Over the river and through the wood,
And straight through the barnyard gate,
We seem to go
Extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait!
Over the river and through the wood--
Now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun
Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!
~Lydia Maria Child

Thanksgiving
Thank You
for all my hands can hold
apples red
and melons gold,
yellow corn
both ripe and sweet,
peas and beans
so good to eat!
Thank You
for all my eyes can see -
lovely sunlight,
field and tree,
white cloud-boats
in sea-deep sky,
soaring bird
and butterfly.
Thank You
for all my ears can hear -
birds' song echoing
far and near,
songs of little
stream, big sea,
cricket, bullfrog,
duck and bee!
~Ivy O. Eastwick

Thanksgiving
The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway -
Thanksgiving comes again!

Thanksgiving Prayer
Father we thank thee for this food
for health, strength, and all things good.
May others all these blessings share,
and hearts be grateful everywhere.
I thank you God for most this amazing
day; for the leaping greenly spirits
of trees and a blue true dream of sky;
and for everything which is infinite,
which is yet.
~e.e. cummings

The Thanksgiving Day Parade
Thanksgiving Day is here today,
the great parade is under way,
and though it's drizzling quite a bit,
I'm sure that I'll see all of it.
Great balloons are floating by,
cartoon creatures stories high,
Mickey Mouse and Mother Goose,
Snoopy and a mammoth moose.
Humpty Dumpty, Smokey Bear
hover in the autumn air,
through the windy skies they sway,
I hope that they don't blow away.
Here comes Santa, shaking hands
as he waddles by the stands.
It's so much fun, I don't complain
when now it really starts to rain.
The bands are marching, here they come,
pipers pipe and drummers drum,
hear the tubas and the flutes,
see the clowns in silly suits.
It's pouring now, but not on me,
I'm just as dry as I can be,
I watch and watch, but don't get wet,
I'm watching on our TV set.
~Jack Prelutsky

The Wishbone
Wishbone, wishbone on a dish,
Pick it up and make a wish.
If I pull the wishbone right,
I will get my wish tonight...
Wishbone, wishbone, will I win?
Will I laugh and clap and grin?
When the wishbone snaps in two,
Will my wishbone wish come true?
Wishbone, wishbone,
Now it snaps,
My sister grins and laughs and claps.
Wishbone, wishbone, I don't laugh,
My sister got the bigger half.

When Daddy Carves the Turkey
When Daddy carves the turkey
It is really quite a sight.
I know he tries his hardest,
but he never does it right.
He makes a fancy show of it
before he starts to carve,
and stabs in all directions
while we're certain that we'll starve.
He yells as loud as thunder
just before he's finally through,
for when Daddy carves the turkey,
Daddy carves his finger too.
~Jack Prelutsky

Thanksgiving - All in a Word
T for time to be together,
Turkey, talk, and tangy weather.
H for harvest stored away,
Home, and hearth, and holiday.
A for autumn's frosty art,
And abundance in the heart.
N for neighbors and November,
Nice things, new things to remember.
K for kitchen, kettle's croon,
Kith and kin expected soon.
S for sizzles, sights, and sounds,
And something special that abounds.
That spells THANKS ~ for joy in living
And a jolly good Thanksgiving!
~Aileen Fischer