When someone wishes you a happy Father’s Day, replying with “Thank You” is sufficient in most situations. However, you could also use your response to express gratitude for your family.
How you respond can change depending on your relationship with the person. What you say to a random person at church will be different than responding to your child or another family member.
If your family wrote you a Father’s Day thank-you message, you might want to respond with a longer thank-you reply.
Quick Happy Father’s Day Responses
Here are some things you can say to respond to Happy Father’s Day wishes. If you’ve lost a child, the person may not be aware.
Simple and polite acknowledgments
- Thank you.
- Thank you for thinking of me.
- Thanks!
- Thanks; I’m looking forward to spending the day with my family.
- I appreciate it. I am missing my son/daughter a lot today.
When you are sure they are also a father
- Thank you, same to you.
- Thanks, Happy Father’s Day to you!
- Thank you! Happy Father’s Day. I hope you have a great day with your family.
Longer Happy Father’s Day Responses
Here are a few examples of longer, Happy Father’s Day replies. They could be written to respond to a text message, greeting card, or said verbally.
#1 Thank you for wishing me a happy Father’s Day! I am very grateful to have you as my son/daughter. I’m proud of you.
#2 Thank you. My love for our family is deep. I appreciate you all for spending the day with me.
#3 Thanks! We have the best family, and I appreciate all of you. Thank you for making it easy to be a dad.
#4 Thank you for the wonderful Father’s Day card. I appreciate the note you wrote in it. It’s a pleasure to be your dad!
#5 Thank you for the personal message in my Father’s Day card. I feel loved and appreciated.
#6 [Responding to a text] Thank you for your message! I am grateful to be your dad.
#7 Thank you! I treasure every moment with you and our family. I’m so proud of all of you and what you’ve accomplished.
#8 Thank you for the Happy Father’s Day wishes! It’s a joy and honor to be a father. My family is the best part of my life.
Responding When You Are Not a Father
Sometimes people incorrectly assume that most adults have children. Perhaps every man that walks into a church on Father’s Day is greeted with “Happy Father’s Day.”
However, sometimes it’s easier to say “Thank You” rather than explain to a stranger that you do not have any children. On the other hand, if you say you are not a father, perhaps they will stop wishing people they don’t know a “Happy Father’s Day.”
Here are a few ways to respond, where you can politely correct them if desired. Including “Thank you” recognizes their good intentions before you correct them.
- Thank you, but I’m not a father.
- Thank you. However, I’m only a dog dad/cat dad.
- Oh, Thank you. I enjoy being an uncle but do not have any kids myself.
- Thank you for thinking of me. However, I do not have any children.
- Thanks; maybe someday I will be a father.
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