Father’s Day quotes that stir love, laughter, and even a few eye rolls.
It’s hard to find the words to express your feelings about all the dads in your life. Even a heartfelt letter seems to miss some of what makes a dad special. Finding happy Father’s Day quotes for cards, posters, invitations, and other short-format projects is even harder — how do you say so much in so few words?
Fortunately, there are a lot of people who left us great quotes that capture each element of fatherhood. These Father’s Day quotes are organized by who’s sending the card or by who’s receiving it (like a first-time dad). You’ll also find devoted sections to funny Father’s Day quotes, inspirational Father’s Day quotes, and more.
Take the perfect quote and let Adobe Express help you turn it into a memorable message.
Father's Day quotes from the kids.
School-age kids and adult children have a common quest each Father’s Day: find the perfect happy Father’s Day quotes for cards, letters, posters, collages, and more. The right quotes say something about great dads and our lasting memories of them. In few words, these quotes send a message of affection and admiration.
Father’s Day quotes — from daughter or son — remind dads of the best payoff of fatherhood. Choose the quote that reminds you instantly of your “old man” and your message will come in loud and clear.
My father was my teacher. But most importantly, he was a great dad.”
Beau Bridges
It’s easy for dads to set themselves to high standards of being teachers, mentors, and protectors. Sometimes, we just need a great dad.
Lately all my friends are worried they're turning into their fathers. I'm worried I'm not”
Dan Zevin
Love your parents. We are so busy growing up, we often forget they are also growing old.”
Unattributed
When my father didn't have my hand, he had my back.”
Linda Poindexter
Use this simple yet beautiful quote on a social banner that you put up for Father’s Day. Tag your dad and tell everyone what he means to you.
My father didn't tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it.”
Clarence Budington Kelland
A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father.”
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
For the adult child sending a Father’s Day card, this quote always gets a laugh.
My father is my rock. It's where I learned everything about loyalty, dependability, about being there day-in, day-out, no matter what.”
Hugh Jackman
You can tell what was the best year of your father's life because they seem to freeze that clothing style and ride it out.”
Jerry Seinfeld
The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.
Tim Russert
This is a fun Father’s Day quote to give Dad credit for being right most of the time — without telling him outright.
Forget Batman: When I really thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wanted to be my dad.”
Paul Asay
Happy Father’s Day, Dad. I wouldn’t trade you for anything. Of course, nobody’s offered me anything.”
Melanie White
Sometimes I think my papa is an accordion. When he looks at me and smiles and breathes, I hear the notes.”
Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
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Stepdad Father's Day quotes.
Father’s Day is the holiday to celebrate every father figure. From adoptive dads to stepdad Father’s Day quotes, the messages below reflect what really goes into fatherhood.
Choose the Father’s Day quotes for stepdads that depict what you love most about the stepfather in your life.
I don’t think it matters how many parents you’ve got, as long as those who are around make their presence a good one.”
Elizabeth Wurtzel
Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.”
Anne Geddes
Short quotes like this one are great for social media posts. They fit into your social graphic and they resonate instantly with anyone who stops their scroll.
There is no such thing as a perfect parent. So just be a real one.”
Sue Atkins
Son, brother, father, lover, friend. There is room in the heart for all the affections, as there is room in heaven for all the stars.”
Victor Hugo
Picture this quote in a card to your stepdad. He had room in his heart for you, and you’re grateful.
A father is neither an anchor to hold us back, nor a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way.”
Unattributed
Families don't have to match. You don't have to look like someone else to love them.”
Leigh Anne Tuohy
It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.”
Anne Sexton
Short quotes like this one are great for invitations. If you’re throwing a Father’s Day party, let Adobe Express help you get the invitations and banners ready.
It’s not flesh and blood, but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.”
Johann Friedrich von Schiller
He adopted a role called being a father so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a protector.”
Tom Wolfe
My stepdad may not have given me life, but he sure has made my life better.”
Gerardo Campbell
This Father’s Day quote works wonderfully on a collage collection of happy memories with your stepdad.
My dad taught me that good health is all about living in gratitude.”
Mariska Hargitay
No man I ever met was my father’s equal, and I never loved any other man as much.”
Hedy Lamarr
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Father's Day quotes from wife.
Affection is sent Dad’s way on Father’s Day from wives and partners, too. Some of the most powerful Father’s Day quotes come from the partners who understand better than anyone what kind of a dad the family has.
Father’s Day quotes — from wife or partner — contain uniquely meaningful messages. Take your pick of these quotes best suited to come from Mom.
I always thought you’d make a great dad. Now, I know it. Happy Father’s Day to an amazing husband.”
Unattributed
We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves.”
Henry Ward Beecher
Father’s Day quotes from wife can mutually marvel at the impact of becoming a parent.
The only thing better than having you for a husband is our children having you for a dad.”
Unattributed
There's something beautiful about a mother’s embrace. And there's something magical about a father’s affirmations.”
Hendrith Vanlon Smith, Jr.
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
I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.
Sigmund Freud
A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.”
Billy Graham
A letter to the dad of the family can use this quote as an introduction to a day devoted to him. Dads don’t always get their due recognition.
The most important thing that parents can teach their children is how to get along without them.”
Frank A. Clark
Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
Elizabeth Stone
Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.”
Charles R. Swindoll
This Father’s Day quote is especially sweet in a card. It evokes a sense of solidarity between father and mother around the life they built together.
There’s nothing that can help you understand your beliefs more than trying to explain them to an inquisitive child.”
Frank A. Clark
You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around—and why his parents will always wave back.”
William D. Tammeus
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Father's Day quotes from husband.
Come Father’s Day, households with two dads have double the celebration. Father’s Day quotes from husband and fellow dad evoke smiles from one dad to another. These Father’s Day quotes are relatable and meant to be shared.
Choose a quote that sends the message of support and understanding, then picture it in a card, letter, or party invitation.
A man’s worth is measured by how he parents his children. What he gives them, what he keeps away from them, the lessons he teaches and the lessons he allows them to learn on their own.”
Lisa Rogers
Behind every young child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first.”
Matthew Jacobson
This short and touching Father’s Day quote goes perfectly on a collage.
She did not stand alone, but what stood behind her, the most potent moral force in her life, was the love of her father.”
Harper Lee, Go Set a Watchman
Harper Lee was always great at writing father figures. Use this quote in a card or letter.
Speak to your children as if they are the wisest, kindest, most beautiful and magical humans on earth, for what they believe is what they will become.”
Brooke Hampton
The thing about parenting rules is there aren't any. That's what makes it so difficult.”
Ewan McGregor
Encourage and support your kids because children are apt to live up to what you believe of them.”
Lady Bird Johnson
The depth of the love of parents for their children cannot be measured. It is like no other relationship. It exceeds concern for life itself. The love of a parent for a child is continuous and transcends heartbreak and disappointment.”
James E. Faust
Parents aren’t the people you come from. They’re the people you want to be when you grow up.”
Jodie Picoult
It’s not only children who grow. Parents do, too. As much as we watch to see what our children do with their lives, they are watching us to see what we do with ours. I can’t tell my children to reach for the sun. All I can do is reach for it myself.
Joyce Maynard
Life doesn’t come with an instruction book — that’s why we have fathers.”
H. Jackson Browne
This quippy Father’s Day quote is short enough to put on a banner. Find an Adobe Express template to make one in a flash.
Children harbor a great many doubts and sorrows that could be eased by a loving hug from a parent.”
Richelle E. Goodrich
Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.”
Frank Pittman
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First Father's Day quotes.
The first Father’s Day each dad celebrates as a father is meant to be memorable. These first Father’s Day quotes touch on the unsung heroism of new dads and follow certain relevant recurring themes.
Choose the right Father’s Day quote for first-time dads, and you’re a step away from making that first Father’s Day a memorable one.
There really are places in the heart you don't even know exist until you love a child.”
Anne Lamott
The point of parenting isn’t to have all the answers before we start out but instead to figure it out on the go as our children grow, because as they do, so will we.”
Bridgett Miller
People who say they sleep like a baby usually don’t have one.”
Leo Burke
Never is a man more of a man than when he is the father of a newborn.”
Matthew McConaughey
This Father’s Day quote goes beautifully in a card or on a banner set up for Dad’s first Father’s Day.
I don’t know what’s more exhausting about parenting: the getting up early, or acting like you know what you’re doing.”
Jim Gaffigan
Parents need to fill a child’s bucket of self-esteem so high that the rest of the world can’t poke enough holes to drain it dry.”
Alvin Price
A little inspiration in a first Father’s Day card can go a long way.
The nature of impending fatherhood is that you are doing something that you’re unqualified to do, and then you become qualified while doing it.”
John Green
Why don’t kids understand their nap is not for them, but for us?”
Alyson Hannigan
Becoming a dad is one thing — being a dad is many things.”
Steve Chapman
Even Dad himself can put this quote on a social banner for his profile.
My biggest parenting conundrum: why is it so hard to put someone who is already sleepy to sleep.”
Chrissy Teigen
Every parent is different and so is every child, so you can read all the books and scribble down all the advice you want, but you’re not going to know what to do until you’ve got that baby in your arms. And even then you still might not know — and that’s totally OK.”
Kelly Rowland
Every son’s first superhero is his father.”
Tiger Shroff
A Father’s Day dinner invitation depicting Dad in a cape could be fun to send, don’t you think?
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Funny Father's Day quotes.
Given the adage of “dad jokes,” there are some funny dads out there. Sometimes, the only fitting message to send Dad’s way are funny Father’s Day quotes. These messages tend to leave lasting impressions because humor is so memorable.
Take your pick of these funny Father’s Day quotes for a card or letter, and prepare to deliver some laughs.
Dad taught me everything I know. Unfortunately, he didn’t teach me everything he knows.”
Al Unser
Parenting without a sense of humor is like being an accountant who sucks at math.”
Amber Dusick
Mother Nature is providential. She gives us twelve years to develop a love for our children before turning them into teenagers.”
William Galvin
More than one of these funny Father’s Day quotes joke about having teenagers at home. These quotes are great in cards from teenage kids.
Always be nice to your children because they are the ones who will choose your rest home.”
Phyllis Diller
I have found the very best way to advise your children is to find out what they want to do and advise them to do it.”
President Harry Truman
Being a father is the single greatest feeling on earth. Not including those wonderful years I spent without a child, of course.”
Ryan Reynolds
You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.”
Franklin P. Adams
A father carries pictures where his money used to be.”
Steve Martin
The shortest funny Father’s Day quotes make for great banners and messages on collages.
When your children are teenagers, it’s important to have a dog so that someone in the house is happy to see you.”
Nora Ephron
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.”
Roald Dahl
Make a collage with this funny Father’s Day quote and it’s as much a joke about Dad as it is about the kids.
Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the sidewalk before it stops snowing.”
Phyllis Diller
The quickest way for a parent to get a child’s attention is to sit down and look comfortable.”
Lane Olinghouse
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Father's Day inspirational quotes.
Some dads are more receptive to inspirational Father’s Day quotes. Maybe these quotes go in cards from a spouse, or a collage from a grandchild, or even a poster from a niece or nephew. The father figures in our lives don’t always go by “dad,” and these quotes are well-suited for any father we admire.
Choose your favorite Father’s Day inspirational quotes and imagine who would appreciate them most.
It's only when you grow up and step back from him — or leave him for your own home — it's only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it.”
Margaret Truman
Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, storytellers, and singers of song.”
Pam Brown
Imagine how this quote could look in a Father’s Day card. Would you highlight one word, like “storytellers” or “heroes,” based on what a father figure is to you?
The reward of child rearing is spending the rest of your life proudly knowing this person you helped guide.”
Mike Sager
Every father should remember that one day his son will follow his example rather than his advice.”
Charles F. Kettering
When you teach your son, you teach your son’s son.”
The Talmud
Parenthood…it’s about guiding the next generation, and forgiving the last.”
Peter Krause
Every great achiever is inspired by a great mentor.”
Lailah Gifty Akita
Almost every father hopes to be a mentor to his children. Whether by example or lesson, this inspirational Father’s Day quote hits home.
It is not what you do for your children, but what you have taught them to do for themselves that will make them successful human beings.”
Ann Landers
It is one thing to show your child the way, and a harder thing to then stand out of it.”
Robert Breault
Inspirational Father’s Day quotes touch on different chapters of fatherhood, too, including becoming fathers of adult children.
By loving them for more than their abilities we show our children that they are much more than the sum of their accomplishments.”
Eileen Kennedy-Moore
The imprint of a father remains forever on the life of the child.”
Roy Lessin
We may not be able to prepare the future for our children, but we can at least prepare our children for the future.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
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Cute Father's Day quotes.
The happy Father’s Day quotes that leave Dad and everyone else saying “aww” are the cute Father’s Day quotes. These add a touch of sweetness to any Father’s Day card, letter, poster, or collage.
Browse the cute Father’s Day quotes that add a touch of cuteness to celebrations this year.
Having children obviously changes your priorities, but when you start to see life through these innocent eyes seeing everything for the first time, you appreciate the small things.”
Nick Cannon
A father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow.”
Unattributed
Being a great father is like shaving. No matter how good you shaved today, you have to do it again tomorrow.”
Reed Markham
By the time a man realizes that his father was right, he has a son who thinks he's wrong.”
Charles Wadsworth
Adult children with their own kids can use this Father’s Day quote in a card to say that Dad knew a lot more than they ever realized before.
A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.”
Unattributed
Children learn to smile from their parents.”
The best inheritance a parent can give his children is a few minutes of his time each day.”
O. A. Battista
When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it’s our job to share our calm, not join their chaos.”
L.R. Knost
A parent’s love is whole no matter how many times divided.”
Robert Brault
There is no friendship, no love, like that of the parent for the child.”
Henry Ward Beecher
In the happiest of our childhood memories, our parents were happy, too.”
Robert Brault
There’s no better inspiration for a dad to have a happy Father’s Day than this reminder that his happiness is part of his family’s happiness, too.
Never fear spoiling children by making them too happy. Happiness is the atmosphere in which all good affections grow.”
Thomas Bray
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Pick your delivery method for the perfect happy Father’s Day quotes.
Once you’ve found the perfect Father’s Day quote, think about the different delivery options for your message. Are you sending Dad a card? Are you throwing a party?
If you see more than one quote you love, you can make more than one thing for Father’s Day, too. Consider:
- Father’s Day cards (the classic)
- Father’s Day letters (where you write a little more out)
- Father’s Day posters (that Dad can put up in his office)
- Father’s Day banners (if you’re throwing a party)
- Father’s Day invitations (to get people to come to the party)
- Father’s Day collages (with favorite photos of Dad, or of you with Dad)
- Father’s Day social media graphics (especially if you can tag Dad)
Exercise: Does Dad have a favorite movie?
The silver screen sends us memorable messages about fatherhood, too.
When you put your Father’s Day quotes to use, think about the imagery of famous dads in the movies. Do any of these famed fathers embody the quote you chose? Could you use images of these dads to personify your message?
- Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird
- Mufasa, The Lion King
- Daniel Hillard, Mrs. Doubtfire
- Don Corleone, The Godfather
- George Banks, Father of the Bride
Adobe Express can help.
Adobe Express has tons of templates and customization options to put your favorite Father’s Day quotes to work. If you want to use happy Father’s Day quotes in cards, letters, posters, banners, invitations, collages, or other creative projects, Adobe Express makes it as simple as picking a template and personalizing it, or making your own idea with easy-to-use tools. Whatever message you want to convey, Adobe Express brings it to life, no experience required.
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