A short quote is an easy way to make a thank you note feel more thoughtful. Below are famous gratitude quotes with their sources, Thanksgiving thank you notes, short thank you sayings you can use without a name, quote and message pairings, and a few quotes for faith-based cards.
Article contents
- How to Use a Quote in a Thank You Card
- Famous Gratitude Quotes
- Thanksgiving Thank You Notes
- Short Thank You Quotes and Sayings
- Quote and Message Pairings
- Faith Quotes About Gratitude
- Frequently Asked Questions
How to Use a Quote in a Thank You Card
- Start with the quote. Put it in quotation marks with the speaker's name after it.
- Thank them for something specific. Name the gift, the favor or the help, and say what it meant to you.
- Sign your name. "With thanks" or "Gratefully" reads well after a quote.
Example: "Gratitude is the memory of the heart." (Jean Massieu) Thank you for checking on Dad every day while we were away. We will remember your kindness for a long time. Gratefully, Anne and Mark
Famous Gratitude Quotes
- "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." (Cicero, Pro Plancio, 54 BC)
- "Gratitude is the memory of the heart." (Jean Massieu, French teacher of the deaf, early 1800s)
- "In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich." (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison)
- "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasure." (Thornton Wilder, The Woman of Andros, 1930)
- "Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." (Charles Dickens, Sketches by Boz)
- "Often, too, our own light goes out, and is rekindled by some experience we go through with a fellow-man. Thus we have each of us cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flames within us." (Albert Schweitzer, Memoirs of Childhood and Youth, 1924)
- "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, Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1963)
- "So it is not happiness that makes us grateful, it's gratefulness that makes us happy." (Brother David Steindl-Rast, 2013)
- "You complain that rose bushes have thorns; I rejoice and give thanks that thorns have roses." (Alphonse Karr, Letters Written from My Garden, 1853, translated from the French)
- "Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks; but I thank you." (William Shakespeare, Hamlet)
Thanksgiving Thank You Notes
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. If you were a guest, a short note to the host afterward is a nice touch.
- Grateful for good food, good company and good friends like you.
- So glad we got to share the table with you this year.
- Thank you for opening your home to all of us for the holiday.
- Hope the leftovers last all weekend. Thank you for having us.
For Thanksgiving quotes and card messages, see our Thanksgiving messages and Thanksgiving Bible verses.
Short Thank You Quotes and Sayings
No one person said these, so you can write them without a name.
- A grateful heart is a happy heart.
- Thankful, grateful and blessed.
- Small acts of kindness are never small.
- Some people make the world brighter just by being in it.
- Lucky to know you, and grateful for it.
- Good friends are worth thanking twice.
- Thanks a bunch.
Quote and Message Pairings
A quote works best with one line of your own after it. Here are a few pairings you can copy or change.
- For a friend: "Gratitude is the memory of the heart." Thank you for everything you did after the baby came. You made the first weeks so much easier.
- For a host: "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasure." Thank you for a weekend at the lake we will be talking about for years.
- For a coworker: "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." Thank you for staying late to finish the report with me. Coffee is on me tomorrow.
- For a teacher or mentor: "Thus we have each of us cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flames within us." You did that for me, and I am grateful.
- For a gift: "Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks; but I thank you." The book was perfect, and I finished it in two days.
Faith Quotes About Gratitude
For a Christian thank you card or a note to your church family.
- "Thou that hast given so much to me, give one thing more, a grateful heart." (George Herbert, Gratefulness, 1633, modern spelling)
- "O Lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!" (William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2)
For Bible verses about thankfulness, see our Thanksgiving Bible verses and Christian thank you cards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good gratitude quote for a card?
Short quotes fit best. "Gratitude is the memory of the heart" by Jean Massieu and "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others" by Cicero are two of the best known.
Who said gratitude is the memory of the heart?
Jean Massieu, a deaf French teacher in the early 1800s. His definition became a common saying in French.
Where does a quote go in a thank you card?
At the top of the inside, before your own message. Write the quote, add the name of the person who said it, then thank them for something specific and sign your name.
Every Twigs Paper card is blank inside, so any of these quotes will fit. For thank you notes, see the Watercolor Flowers and Sunflowers sets, our floral thank you cards, or all thank you cards. For more wording, see our thank you card messages.
More quotes for cards: gratitude quotes, dog quotes, cat quotes, national park and nature quotes and ocean and beach quotes.
