The dads in our lives can be downright hilarious (and we're not just talking about those dad jokes either). From how they handled our teen years to the way they interact with other people, these are some of our funniest dad stories.
If you've got a funny story about your dad, sharing it with him can be a great way to show him how much you care. It's the perfect thing to write in a Father's Day card or birthday card.
Late Night Step-Dad Scare
Carrie, our editorial director, shares a totally hilarious story about her stepdad:
He used to go to bed quite early and was up at like 4 in the morning. One summer night when we were teenagers, my brother stayed out very late with his friends and came home slightly inebriated at around 4:30 am. My stepdad was up and drinking his coffee at the picnic table outside. My brother was trying to fit his key into the lock to get into the house (while swaying a little bit), and my stepdad said very loudly, "Need some help with that?" Nearly scared the pants off my brother.
Secretly, I'm just glad it wasn't me instead of him.
Dad as Romance Destroyer
Speaking of dads keeping tabs on teenage antics, my own dad had a creative and funny way of maintaining the rules in our house. When I was a teenager, we lived in a split-level house where the stairs to the bedroom hallway were directly opposite the living room sofa. Sometimes I would have a boyfriend over, and we’d be sitting on the couch talking after my parents were in bed. Just when we would start to think about making out, my dad would suddenly appear, walking down the hall from his bedroom to the bathroom in nothing but his tighty whities. He’d smile and wave and instantly kill the mood. No one feels romantic after a sight like that.
It was only years later that I realized he could have just used the adjoining door between his bedroom and the bathroom instead of horrifying his teenager and her boyfriend by randomly appearing in his underwear. He now admits it was all part of his strategy.
Related: 59 Dad Captions to Show How Much He Matters Every Day
Dad's Version of an Excuse
Karen, our content director, also had a really funny memory of her dad from her teen years:
I turned 18 when I was a senior in high school, and my dad was one of the counselors at the school. Because his life's work was ushering teens into adulthood, he was very big on helping his own daughters grow into functional adults, too. So after I turned 18, he told me that as an adult, if I missed school due to illness, I'd have to write my own excuse since I was now responsible for myself — not my parents.
I missed a day due to illness shortly after my 18th birthday, wrote my own excuse, and took it to the attendance lady. She was not amused and made a HUGE deal out of it, eventually even calling my dad down to the office when I told her that he was the one who told me I needed to write my own note. She threatened to send me to the principal's office, but my dad backed me up and firmly said I was an adult, so he couldn't write my excuses for me anymore — I had to do it.
A few months later, I got some kind of a virus that made me super sick, and I actually missed an entire week of school because I was so ill. On the day I was to go back, I begged my dad to write an excuse for me because the last time I'd written my own was such a huge ordeal. At first, my dad refused, but finally he said, "Oh... okay, I'll do it if it means that much to you." So he scribbled a note on a piece of paper, folded it up, and handed it to me.
At the attendance office, I handed over the note. The attendance lady opened it, read the note, looked at me, and said, "Do you think this is funny?" I had no idea what she was talking about. She handed me the note. My dad had signed it George Washington.
Related: Insightful Questions to Ask Your Dad
Unintentionally Terrifying Dad
Megan, our content and marketing specialist, shared a hilarious story of her dad being unintentionally terrifying:
My mom, brother, and I were at church one Wednesday evening, and my older sisters didn’t want to go. So, mom let them stay by themselves but told them not to answer the door or phone and to call her cell if anything scared them (big mistakes). It was a dark and stormy night, and they were like early middle school days, and my dad comes home earlier than expected. So, he’s unlocking the door (it opened to a split-level stairs), and my sisters in the living room above the door thought he was a man breaking into the house. So they went racing to the kitchen to grab the phone, out the back door, down the second-story deck stairs, and into the night. They call my mom, crying, saying someone had broken in. Mom calls Dad to check on them and realizes he’s already home, so she calls them back to tell them they’re all clear.
Related: 42 Ideas for Father's Day Activities He'll Really Love
Accidentally Explosive Dad
My dad also scared me accidentally once, although it might really be described as an overall lack of impulse control.
He had a potato gun he had made out of PVC pipe with a charcoal grill igniter attached to it. To propel a potato at terrifying speeds, he would spray Aquanet hairspray into the tube and light it, forcing the potato out with the ensuing explosion. This was no small piece of tuber artillery, either. It was six feet long and really more of a cannon.
Eventually, he realized that the Aquanet left a sticky residue inside the spud cannon, reducing its overall effectiveness. He wasn't sure how to clean the residue, so I brought him a bottle of nail polish remover and stood in the doorway of the garage while he swabbed the inside of his potato gun. Suddenly, a massive fireball at least two feet in diameter shot past my legs, accompanied by a blast of heat.
"Oops. Sorry, honey," he said. "I just wondered what would happen if I pulled the trigger!"
Super Friendly Dad
Carrie had an awesome story about her dad's legendary friendliness:
My dad knows everyone. We can't go anywhere without him running into people he knows and stopping to have conversations. And I mean like, family vacations in Florida and Washington, DC? Yup, people knew him and stopped to talk with him.
He always used to greet these people with names like "Tiger," or "Chief," or "Boss." I thought it was so cool that he had nicknames for everyone he knew. In reality, he just couldn't remember all of their names!
Every Dad Is Funny in His Own Way
All these fun stories just prove that every dad is hilarious in his own unique way. Here's hoping you've got lots of funny memories of your dad, too.
