Thanksgiving toast

Make this speech your own

Copy the script into your own document, then replace every bracketed marker with a true detail. The examples below are fictional prompts, not facts about anyone. Change or remove any sentence that does not fit your situation.

The // mark means pause; do not read it aloud. Use the default script, or swap in one of the openings or closings below. Do not add every alternative to the same speech.

With the fictional examples filled in, the default script is 127 words. At 125 words per minute, that is about one minute. Your own details and pauses will change the time, so read your finished version aloud and time it.

Details to gather

HOST — Who made today's meal or gathering possible? Name them the way the table knows them. Fictional example: Aunt Robin and everyone who helped in the kitchen

GRATITUDE — What is one thing from this year that most people at the table can be grateful for together? Fictional example: the way this family kept showing up for each other

Ask for one minute

If I could have everyone's attention for one minute, I promise to give it back before the food gets cold. //

Thank the people who made it happen

First, thank you to HOST. A meal like this takes planning and a lot of work that nobody sees, and today we see it. //

Name one shared thing

This year, I'm grateful for GRATITUDE. And I'm grateful for everyone at this table, whether you've been coming for years or this is your very first Thanksgiving with us. //

Raise the toast

So if you have a glass, a mug or just a hand, please lift it with me. To the people who cooked, the people who traveled and the people who will help with the dishes. Happy Thanksgiving.

Two optional openings

Before anyone picks up a fork, I have a few words of thanks. I'll be quick.

Can I have everyone's attention? This won't take long, I promise.

Two optional closings

To everyone at this table, and to everyone we wish were here. Happy Thanksgiving.

Here's to good food, good company and a year worth being grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving.

Prepare a version you can say

Give the toast just before the meal starts or once everyone has a plate, when the table is settled. Stand if the group is large; stay seated at a small table.

Check the host's name and any family titles before you begin. If someone is also saying grace or a blessing, ask the host where your toast should go.

Keep your notes to four words: thanks, grateful, everyone, toast. One minute goes quickly when you know the order.

Keep the toast kind

Choose a gratitude line that includes everyone. Leave out politics, money, diets and anything that singles out one person at the table.

If someone is missing this year, one gentle line is enough. You do not need to explain the absence.

Questions before the day

How long should a Thanksgiving toast be? About one minute, like this script, suits a table where people are waiting to eat.

Who should give the Thanksgiving toast? The host, or anyone the host invites. If you're not the host, ask first so the timing works.

Do I have to mention religion or say grace? No. This toast is about gratitude and the people at the table. If your family says grace, keep the toast separate.

Can a child give this toast? Yes. Shorten the thank-you line and let them name what they're grateful for in their own words.