40 Parents Who Surprised Their Kids With Hilarious Notes

You expect signs to be helpful, clear, and maybe a little boring. But every once in a while, someone puts up a sign that does far more than its job, whether by accident or with perfect comedic timing.

From poorly worded warnings and overly honest instructions to messages that raise more questions than they answer, these signs turn everyday spaces into open-air comedy shows. Found in the wild and captured at just the right moment, they prove that humor doesn’t always need a punchline, sometimes all it needs is bad phrasing and a public wall. Here are some unexpectedly funny signs people found in the wild, guaranteed to make you stop, stare, and laugh before moving on.

#1 Just Got Home From Work And Found This Note From My Dad On The Fridge. A Little Confused, I Walked Into The Living Room To Find My Cat, As Promised

Image source: imgur.com

#2 My Daughter Said She Was Too Old For Notes In Her Lunch – My Reply And Win

Image source: Michellehas2ls

#3 The Joys Of Working From Home

Image source: 4musing_User_Name

#4 My Kids Haven’t Cleaned Their Bathroom Like They Were Supposed To. I Decided To Leave A Note Under A Rag They Left On The Floor. It’s Been A Week Already

Image source: prevuznack

#5 My Dad Leaves Misspelled Notes, And I Leave Replies

Image source: imgur.com

#6 My Mom And I Are Both Atheists, But She Left Me This Note This Morning

Image source: imgur.com

#7 WI-Fi Chore Challenge

Image source: mohamadayman45

#8 My Wife Normally Writes Notes For Our Daughter’s School Lunch

Image source: SleepWouldBeNice

Since my wife’s away for work, my daughter has been worried that “dad’s just going to draw a stick person.” Joke’s on her: I’m going to draw a ton of stick people!

#9 My Mom Sent Me This In The Mail

Image source: BushyEyes

#10 Found This Note In My Bathroom Drawer After My Dad Tried To Borrow Toothpaste

Image source: imgur.com

#11 If You See A Black Man With A Machete. It’s Ok

“Dave,
Dad and I are canoeing!
Steve is here working, so if you see a black man with a machete… It’s OK.
Mom”

Image source: reddit.com

#12 I Was Walking Out Of My House, Without A Coat, And I Saw This Note My Dad Left Me

Image source: TheAnnaBoat

#13 Every Christmas, I Give My Kids A Personalised Card. This Year, I Decided To Mess With Them

Image source: reddit.com

#14 The Laundry Basket Is Watching

#15 This Is Amazing

Image source: JessecaDale

#16 I Gave My Teenage Kid A “Dad Gift”, How Did I Do? Also Ps5, But That’s For Me, Kind Of Maybe

Image source: SirRipOliver

#17 Apple Juice Marketing Is Getting Intense

Image source: orphan_blud

#18 Your Mom Is So Funny

Image source: scottyandsimone

#19 Living With My Parents Is Going Well. Had To Get Blood Work Done Today, So They Left Me A Note On My Bedroom Door. It Turned Out To Be Surprisingly Menacing

Image source: PrestonHoopes

#20 My Mom Left Me A Note For Me When I Got Home From Work That, She, She, She, She, She Let The Dogs Out. Gotta Love Her

Image source: dirtylongs

#21 Laundry Lessons

Image source: Shelli Marple

#22 When The Housing Crisis Becomes Too Real

Image source: Kolvinn

#23 My Wife’s Note To Our Graduating Son vs. Mine

Image source: benbernards

#24 My Mom Left This Note On The Cereal This Morning. She’s 5’1

Image source: reddit.com

#25 This Note My Mom Left

Image source: PrettyLLiar

#26 Typical Note From Mom

Image source: Shontoodle

#27 I Just Got A Job In The Same Area As My Mom. Here’s A Note I Found On My Car In Our Shared Parking Garage

Image source: DannyElfLord

#28 While My 7-Year-Old Daughter Loves The Notes I Leave In Her Lunch, Her Friends Have No Idea Why Her Dad Is “So Weird”

Image source: skryb

#29 Carrots Over Commerce

Image source: babygaga

#30 My Mom Left Me A Note That Told Me To Share Her Curly Fries With The Dog

“Share these with Teddy, they’re mine”

Image source: Bri_Alexis_Hall

#31 So My Parents Left For A Week, And My Dad Left Me This Note

Image source: _amandabastien

#32 Trying To Keep My Lunch Notes Fresh And Cool During Summer School

Image source: Michellehas2ls

#33 I’m Feeding My Parents’ Cats For The Week, And This Is The Note My Dad Left For Me

Image source: thegalagaship

#34 The Force Of Hunger

#35 The Difference Between Moms And Dads

Image source: Hey_HoofHearted

#36 First Year Taking Lunch To School, So We Put A Note Every Day

First year of “school” (Pre-K/pre-primary), so we needed to send a lunch bag. Put a note with a drawing in on the first day, and now it’s a thing – these days she has to pick one to throw out if she wants a new one on the fridge.