Humorous Birthday Messages

Funny Birthday Messages to Make Your Pals Chuckle

Man surprising woman with card at bistro table
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There's not much better than a spot-on, hilarious line to tickle your funny bone. Everyone wants to wish the birthday person 'Happy birthday' in their own style -- so why not use some humor? Some people like to use inspirational birthday quotes to express their good wishes, while others enjoy making witty comments about birthdays. However, the ones that are always appealing are the funny birthday quotes. Humor can be a great stress-buster, especially if your comedic timing is on point. 

How Much Is Too Much?

Jokes are always great icebreakers, but what if you cross the threshold of decency? What if your joke, instead of causing ripples of laughter, causes bubbles of fury? To be able to deliver a funny birthday message, you need to be sensitive towards others. If the birthday person has a low tolerance for personal jokes, steer clear of the common pitfalls. That means, no jokes about weight, color, race, gender, or any physical deformity. Politically incorrect humor can boomerang, especially when used in birthday cards. Funny birthday wishes that tease someone about their habits, fears, or idiosyncrasies are usually considered acceptable.

Humor also has to be tailored keeping in mind your relation to the birthday person. If you are sending a birthday wish to a very close friend or family member, you can be more wicked in your humor. But you may want to think twice about using dirty humor with your boss, for example.

The 'Done to Death' Humor

Some jokes are fun the first time you read them, however, when you read the same joke year after year, you tend to get tired of it -- it is hard to even smile over the stale joke. If you want to pep up your friend with funny quotes, make sure that you have not used them before. If you can't create your own humor, use the help of random funny quotes to create your own humorous line.

Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say

Humor is a potent medium of communication, and sometimes you run the risk of over communicating. What does that mean? Well, some jokes are full of innuendo, leaving room for different types of interpretation. So watch out for the ones that take off on a tangent. If you intend to use a pun, make sure that you are not offending anybody's sensibilities.

How to Use Funny Birthday Messages

To successfully pull off a side-splitting birthday message, here's what to do: Think about the person you are sending the birthday message to, and ask yourself, "What's unique about this person?" Perhaps she or he is lazy, a workaholic, perhaps she has many pets or is a stickler for cleanliness. Then use this information to scout around the Internet for funny birthday quotes. Having found one that fits the bill, you can either use the original or tweak it to suit your humor style. That way, you'll have an original greeting every time you send out birthday wishes.

Famous Funny Birthday Quotes 

Bette Davis
Old age is not for sissies. ​

Satchel Paige
How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?​

Mitch Hedberg
I wanted to buy a candle holder, but the store didn't have one. So I got a cake. ​

Doug Coupland
Handmade presents are scary because they reveal that you have too much free time. ​

Norman Wisdom
As you get older, three things happen: The first is your memory goes, and I can't remember the other two. 

Franklin Adams
The worst gift is a fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other. ​

Al Forman
I occasionally get birthday cards from fans. But it’s often the same message: They hope it’s my last. ​

J. P. Sears
Let us respect gray hairs, especially our own.​

Maurice Chevalier
Old age isn’t so bad when you consider the alternative. ​

Benny Hill
Have you noticed that all the people in favor of birth control are already born? ​

Friedrich Nietzsche
Blessed are the forgetful: for they get the better even of their blunders. ​

Josh Billings
Every man has his follies -- and often they are the most interesting thing he has got. ​

Jane Austen
You have delighted us long enough.

I have met a lot of hardboiled eggs in my time, but you're twenty minutes.

Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason. ​

Bill Cosby
A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice. ​

C. E. M. Joad
Men are like wine. Some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age. ​

John P. Grier
You are only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime. ​

Jim Gaffigan
Pie can’t compete with cake. Put candles in a cake, it’s a birthday cake. Put candles in a pie, and somebody’s drunk in the kitchen. ​

Steven Wright
For my birthday I got a humidifier and a dehumidifier. I put them in the same room and let them fight it out.

I can stand brute force, but brute reason is quite unbearable. There is something unfair about its use. It is hitting below the intellect. ​

Dorothy Parker
If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to. ​

Colonel Sanders
There's no reason to be the richest man in the cemetery. You can't do any business from there. ​

Jack Handey
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and you have their shoes.