Father’s Day Message Guide: What to Write in A Father’s Day Card

Father’s Day is around the corner yet again! It’s the time of year to show a little love to the dads in our lives who often go underappreciated. So, whether your dad loves a lengthy catch-up about everything going on in your life or he’s a man of few words, finding the perfect message to write in your Father’s Day card isn’t always easy, right? Well, that’s where our card writing experts have stepped in to help!

We’ve collected our top ideas for what to write in a Father’s Day card, from funny and rude to thoughtful and sentimental. We’ve done our research and rummaged through our cards to come up with some of the greatest ideas. Simply pick out your favourite line and pass it off as your own – dad will never know.

Jump to: Simple – Funny – Rude – Thoughtful – Father’s Day Quotes – Grandad – Like a Dad

Simple Father’s Day Card Messages

Sometimes you’ve just gotta keep it short and sweet. So, for those dads of few words, here’s a message that’ll feel right at home.

1. Happy dad day! Thanks for being my dad!
2. Dad, you’re the best! Thanks for everything.
3. To the world’s greatest dad, from the world’s greatest child.
4. Happy Father’s Day, thanks for being an awesome dad. Have a great day!
5. Thanks for all you have done for me, dad.
6. Wishing you a very happy Father’s Day and thanking you for being a great dad.
7. Dad – thanks for all the help, love and support. Happy Father’s Day!
8. You will never go out of style. Happy Father’s day to the coolest dad.
9. I’m lucky to have such a brilliant dad, thank you!
10. Dad, you’re a legend. I appreciate everything you do, thank you.

Funny Father’s Day Messages

Challenge dad at his own game with seriously punny Father’s Day messages that’ll have him chuckling away. From classic dad jokes to more sophisticated humour and everything in between, here’s our top funny Father’s Day quotes to write in your funny Father’s Day card.

1. 1. Happy Father’s Day to one of my favourite ever parents.
   2. Well done dad – I turned out awesome!
   3. I hope your Father’s Day is as fun as your life was before you had us kids.
   4. I love how we don’t even need to say out loud that I am your favourite child. It’s a really special bond we share.
   5. You’ve always been like a father to me, happy Father’s Day dad.
   6. Dad – I wouldn’t trade you for anything. I mean, nobody’s offered me anything, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t!
   7. Even though you never bought me a pony, I still love you. Happy Father’s Day!
   8. I was going to give you the most amazing gift ever… then I remembered you already have me.
   9. All I can say is that mum had amazing taste to pick you to be our dad!
   10. Happy Father’s Day to someone who inexplicably loves signing his name in each of his text messages.
   11. As a reward for being such a good father, I promise I’ll let you pick your own nursing home…
   12. Well done – you rank in the top 10 of all the dads I’ve ever had.
   13. Thanks for not letting me screw up my life.
   14. You’ve always been my favourite ATM.
   15. Happy Father’s Day. I’m sorry I spent all of your money!
   16. I’m so grateful for all the things you’ve done for me over the years that I bought you this £3 card. Happy Father’s Day.
   17. Dad, I just wanted to say congratulations, I turned out perfectly.
   18. Have a great Father’s Day. Love from your favourite financial burden.
   19. Please accept this Father’s Day card as a token of my poverty.
   20. You’re by far the best dad I could have asked for… until you start dancing!

Rude and Offensive Father’s Day Wishes

If your way of showing affection is well-placed jabs and insults about everything from his terrible dance moves to his awful farts, here are our top cheeky and offensive messages for a rude Father’s Day card to let him know what you really think!

1. I just wanted to say happy Father’s Day to my hero and role model. Unfortunately I don’t have one so I’ll say it to you instead.
2. I don’t usually thank people for knocking up my mum… you are the exception.
3. Happy Father’s Day from one of your most legitimate children.
4. Thanks for fulfilling your role as my dad adequately.
5. I’m so happy it was you who knocked up mum!
6. Thanks for putting up with all of my sh**.
7. Happy Father’s Day. Thanks for occasionally wiping my bum and stuff.
8. Ignore what mum says about you, I don’t think you’re that bad.
9. Thanks for teaching me all those swear words you f***ing legend.
10. I’ve filled this card with all the ways I want to turn out just like you. That’s why it’s blank!

Thoughtful Father’s Day Messages

It’s no secret that not everyone is the best with putting into words how much they appreciate the dads in their life, so we’ve taken it into our own to help you find the words to celebrate your Father’s Day heroes. Get inspired below with some of our favourite thoughtful Father’s Day messages, and feel free to take complete credit.

1. I don’t say this often enough but I just want to thank you for everything you do for me, I really appreciate it!
2. Any man can be a father but it takes a special someone to be a dad.
3. You’re still the one I think of first when I have a question about something or when I just need some support and good advice. Thank you for always being there for me.
4. You’ll always be my hero and my role model. Thanks for being here for me and being a great example through life so far.
5. The older I get the more I realise how much you have done for me. You’ve provided stability, support and so much more! Thanks for everything, dad.
6. Thanks for being there every day for me. Everything you’ve taught me has stuck with me and I’m lucky to have a dad like you!
7. Dad, you are someone I will always look up to no matter how tall I grow.
8. Dad, I can’t imagine what my life would have been like without you. Thanks so much for everything, you’re amazing.
9. Thank you for always believing me and making my life feel important.
10. I used to worry about turning into my parents, now I hope I do!

Shop traditional Father’s Day cards.

Father’s Day Quotes

Fancy leaving it up to those who’ve gone before you? Here are some meaningful and heartfelt Father’s Day quotes that you can adapt, tweak, or (let’s be honest) straight-up steal for your card.

Short and Simple Dad Quotes

1. “A daughter needs a dad to be the standard against which she will judge all men.” Gregory E. Lang
2. “I am not ashamed to say that no man I ever met was my father’s equal, and I never loved any other man as much.” Hedy Lamarr
3. “I love my father as the stars—he’s a bright shining example and a happy twinkling in my heart.” Terri Guillemets
4. “The greatest tribute a boy can give to his father is to say, ‘When I grow up, I want to be just like my dad.’” Billy Graham
5. “I think my mum put it best. She said, ‘Little girls soften their daddy’s hearts.’” Paul Walker
6. “It is not flesh and blood, but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.” Johann Friedrich Von Schiller
7. “Having a kid is like falling in love for the first time when you’re 12, but every single day.” Mike Myers
8. “Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, and that’s why I call you dad because you are so special to me.” Wade Boggs
9. “Becoming a dad means you have to be a role model for your son and be someone he can look up to.” Wayne Rooney

Thoughtful Father’s Day Quotes

1. “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.” Billy Graham
2. “Any fool can have a child. That doesn’t make you a father. It’s the courage to raise a child that makes you a father.” Barack Obama
3. “The quality of a father can be seen in the goals, dreams, and aspirations he sets not only for himself but for his family.” Reed Markham
4. “I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.” Harry S. Truman
5. “Fatherhood is the greatest thing that could ever happen. You can’t explain it until it happens—it’s like telling someone what water feels like before they’ve ever swam in it.” Michael Bublé
6. “I’ve said it before, but it’s absolutely true: My mother gave me my drive, but my father gave me my dreams. Thanks to him, I could see a future.” Liza Minnelli
7. “Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.” Ruth E. Renkel
8. “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” Sigmund Freud
9. “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: He believed in me.” Jim Valvano

Fatherhood Quotes from Books

1. “It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.” To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
2. “There’s no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it.” A Clash of Kings, by George R.R. Martin
3. “I understand more and more how true Daddy’s words were when he said: ‘All children must look after their own upbringing.’ Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank
4. “My father had taught me to be nice first because you can always be mean later, but once you’ve been mean to someone, they won’t believe the nice anymore. So be nice, be nice, until it’s time to stop being nice, then destroy them.” A Stroke of Midnight, by Laurell K. Hamilton
5. “In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.’” The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Funny Fatherhood Quotes

1. “The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.” Tim Russert
2. “Lately all my friends are worried they’re turning into their fathers. I’m worried I’m not.” Dan Zevin
3. “Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, storytellers, and singers of song.” Pam Brown
4. “It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.” Matilda, by Roald Dahl
5. “My father taught me to work, but not to love it. I never did like to work, and I don’t deny it. I’d rather read, tell stories, crack jokes, talk, laugh—anything but work.” Abraham Lincoln

What to Write for Grandad

If you think about it, a grandad is twice as dad as a normal dad, so they definitely deserve their own Father’s Day wishes! Here’s our top picks for what to write in a Father’s Day card for grandad.

1. Happy grandad’s day! Remember, the very best dads are promoted to grandad!
2. Grandad, you really are a perfectly aged, limited edition!
3. Happy father’s day grandad. You’re one of my favourite grandparents!
4. Thanks for being the world’s best grandad!
5. Happy Father’s Day grandad, sorry you had to put up with my dad. Hope I make up for it!
6. Happy Father’s Day to a father who is really grand.
7. Grandad, thank you for spoiling me and letting me get away with all the things dad doesn’t!
8. I couldn’t ask for a better Grandad… and if I could I wouldn’t! You’re the best, thank you.

Shop traditional Father’s Day cards.

Like a Dad Father’s Day Messages

Whether you’re celebrating a super Mum, Step-Dad, Uncle or anyone who’s like a dad to you, let them know how you feel and celebrate the people that help you grow into a better person with a selection of like a dad Father’s Day cards for all those under appreciated heroes this time of year.

1. Forget the genetics, you’ll always be my dad. Thanks for always being there for me.
2. You’re like a dad to me, so here’s to you this Father’s Day.
3. We don’t all get to choose our dads, but I’m so glad I ended up with you. Thank you for everything.
4. Thank you for always loving me like your own, I’m lucky to have you in my life.
5. You’re not just like a dad to me, you’re even better than the real thing. Happy Father’s Day.
6. My life is better with you in it, thank you for always being there for me.
7. I think it’s time we lose the step, happy Father’s Day step dad.
8. Who said the best dad can’t be a mum? I’d choose you over a million dads.
9. You’re the best father figure I could possibly ask for. So, Happy Father’s Day to you!
10. Here’s to someone special this Father’s Day, thank you for making this time of year a lot more pleasant.

Create the Perfect Father’s Day Message (And Put It in Something Worth Keeping)

Once you’ve found the right Father’s Day message, the next step is giving it the right home. Whether you’re going for funny, heartfelt or somewhere that sits nicely in between, a personalised Father’s Day card or gift helps turn your message into something that feels a bit more special. Add a favourite photo, an in-joke or his name, and you’ve got something made specially for him – not just another card off the shelf.

And while you’re at it, why not check out some of the other practical guides and inspirational articles available on the Funky Pigeon Official Blog? Get stuck into our official Father’s Day gift guide, wake him up on the right side of the bed with our easy Father’s Day breakfast recipes, or plan the perfect day with our father-daughter activities.

FAQs: Father’s Day Messages & Quotes

What should I write in a Father’s Day card?

What you write in a Father’s Day card depends on your relationship with dad and the tone you want to strike. You might go for something funny, heartfelt, short and sweet, or a little cheeky. A simple Father’s Day message like “Thanks for always being there for me” can work just as well as a longer, more personal note.

What are good messages for a dad’s first Father’s Day?

For a first Father’s Day card, it’s lovely to make your message feel personal and memorable. You could mention how special it is to celebrate his very first Father’s Day, or let him know what an amazing dad he already is. Sweet and thoughtful messages usually work best for this kind of card.

What kind of Father’s Day quotes can I include in a card?

Father’s Day quotes are a great way to add something meaningful or funny to your card. You can choose sentimental Father’s Day quotes about love and support, or go for happy Father’s Day quotes that keep things light-hearted. They’re especially handy if you want your message to sound polished without overthinking it.

What are some short happy Father’s Day wishes?

Short happy Father’s Day wishes are perfect if you want to keep things simple. Messages like “Happy Father’s Day, Dad!”, “Thanks for everything”, or “You’re the best” can say a lot in just a few words. They also work brilliantly in smaller cards or when you’re adding your own photo or design.

How can I write my own Father’s Day message?

Feeling brave and fancy writing your own Father’s Day message? Very admirable, but it’s really not as scary as it sounds. Start by thinking about your father figure – what really makes him him? Think favourite jokes, hobbies, shared memories, or even the way he signs off his texts. Personal touches make all the difference, whether you’re writing a funny message or creating a card that’s more thoughtful and heartfelt.