You’d think that parent humor is all about dad jokes and outdated references that are only there for the specific purpose of making you look bad in front of your cool friends. Well, there’s much more than that.

There are genuinely funny parents out there—even the ones with all the literal puns—and the internet has become a bit of a channel for them to surface. We’ve scoped out the best of the best of them to compile this neat little (not really) listicle for your entertainment to prove just how hilarious moms and dads can actually be.

#1 My Parents Sent Me This From Their Retirement Community Today

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#2 I Asked My 17-Year-Old Son What He Wanted To Eat For Breakfast

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#3 He Was Just Messing Around. He Likes Him A Lot

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Now, let’s address the elephant in the room. The so-called dad jokes get a bad rep online, and it’s understandable. We won’t argue that they are notoriously corny, cheesy, and fit the bill of a wisecrack on steroids. It doesn’t help that these are often the reason why kids avoid parents when they’re with their friends out and about in the wild. But what if I told you it’s not a bad thing?

#4 My Mom Has This Hanging Above The Dryer In Her Laundry Room

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#5 My Dad Recently Got A 3D Printer And Made A Stool Sample For His Doctor

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#6 I Jokingly Sent My Mom A Cutout Of Myself While I’m Studying Abroad. She Seems To Be Entertaining Herself With It

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Turns out, there are studies that prove corny parent jokes, all the while full of potential to embarrass, can teach kids to overcome awkward moments when they become adults themselves.

Kids benefit greatly from parents who role play at home or otherwise offer tools for socializing to their kids by putting them into situations where they can practice their newly acquired means of socializing.

#7 Parents Gave Me A Gift For College Today, Which Was All The Money That My Mom Found In My Pockets When Doing My Laundry

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#8 In My Mom’s Bathroom

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#9 My Daughter Turned 18 On Halloween, So I Carved Her The Scariest Pumpkin In Honor Of It

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If anything—a bit of a devious approach, but one that definitely will show that you love and care for your dad—turn those jokes back at them on Father’s day. Heck, or any other day! Humor doesn’t discriminate chronologically. And sure, you might not embarrass your dad the same way he can embarrass you, but they’ll definitely pick up on the corn and appreciate it all the more.

#10 Mom Told Me The Rooster Was After Her Today. I Had To Check Security Cameras To Verify

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#11 Where Can I Get These?

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#12 I Removed The Plastic Wrap From The Family’s TV Remote, And This Was My Mother’s Response The Next Day

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Anywho, moms and dads online range from get out to mad lad savage in their humor. But it’s all in good fun in the end.

Kid says he doesn’t know what he wants to eat? Serve a bowl of IDK. Son wants to propose? Be there in the background with a sign pleading for the partner to say no. Daughter turns 18? Surprise her with the scariest pumpkin ever—because nothing is scarier than real life.

#13 I Dropped In On My Kids’ Zoom Classes. This Was A Payback For All The Interruptions To My Work Calls

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#14 Dad Bought Mom A New Mask

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#15 This Mom Trolled Her Family By Making A Pile Of Their Laundry Into A Christmas Tree

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Laughter is good all around. In their younger years, kids benefit from humor in terms of intelligence, general health and coping with life’s challenges. If anything, it allows them to connect with their parents and that’s always nice.

And depending on their age, different kinds of humor tickle their funny bone: tickles and raspberries for infants, physical humor for toddlers, incongruity and bathroom humor with preschoolers and basic wordplay, exaggerations and slapstick for school-age kids. Most importantly, it has to be unexpected. That’s the key to humor in general.

#16 Parents Got Snowed In At The Lake House. Mom Sent Me This And Said: “Your Father And His Friend Are Out Of Control”

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#17 My Mom Missed A Group Photo, So She Offered To Photoshop Herself In

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#18 Hopefully The Kids Can Control Themselves Tonight (On Halloween) And Leave Some For The Others

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Humor and laughter in the years following childhood and adolescence is just as important as it was before. There’s evidence that laughter boosts the immune system, lowers stress and decreases pain, gives a more positive look on life and improves mood, strengthens psychological resilience, helps with social matters and empowers bonding (personal, corporate, etc), among many other things. After all, it’s better to hang around someone who’s genuinely funny rather than a complete buzzkill.

#19 My Dad Wanted To Take A Nice Picture With A Waterfall In Yosemite

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#20 My Mom Has A Picture Of My Dad In Her Wallet Like This

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#21 Someone Stole My Mom’s Zucchini From The Community Garden

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Now, you might think that not everyone is funny, but, one, it’s a key people skill, which quite likely means everyone is good at it to some level and, two, everyone can learn it. And you’d be surprised how far the basics can go.

First up, give the opposite answer to yes or no questions. If someone is asking you a question and hints at their expectation of what you might say, surprise them with the opposite answer and break their expectations.

#22 Told My Dad His Toast Could Only Be One Page

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#23 I Got A Text From Mum Saying: “Your Dinner For Tonight Is In The Fridge.” This Is My Dinner

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#24 My Mom Makes Pottery Masks As A Hobby, And My Dad Is Going Quarantine Crazy. This Is The Result

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Next, what you want to do is play with your numbers. Exaggerate them, say it’s nothing or tiny, but you still end up revealing an extremely contradicting number (like saying you’ve played a game a bit, but your record shows 1,600 hours in).

Another way of approaching it is to hype up (or the opposite) something that is absolutely not what it is and then deliver the real answer for comedic effect. You know, “what do I win?” – “oh, you won some badges… um, a blue ribbon… 10 million dollars…” Now extend across several minutes.

#25 My Dad Was Gonna Go For A Run. He Laid Down To Stretch His Back, And I Found Him Asleep 30 Minutes Later

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#26 My Dad Had Eye Surgery, And My Mom Asked Where He Wanted To Go For Lunch After. So Here We Are

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#27 My Mother Just Told Everyone: “This Is The Vegan Option”

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There’s also tactics like using the rule of three, with the last one being an unexpected, unrelated piece of nonsense to deliver your point home; switching characters whereby if someone is trying to pin something comedic on you, you can casually retarget it to the next person; or surprise folks with an unexpected “whatever” if stuff gets ugly.

But do keep in mind that real life stories are always better than jokes, so if you have those, whip them out!

#28 Venmo Request From My Dad, Now That I’m Over 18

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#29 My Dad Gives All The Kids $100 Dollars Every Year In A Weird Way And This Year He Went All In

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#30 That Is The Most Horrifying Thing I’ve Ever Seen

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Now, if this isn’t enough for you, be aware that parents have always been funny on the internet and Bored Panda is definitely a place to check some examples out.

But if that’s not something you want to get into, then why not leave us a comment with your stories and takes and then go do whatever that’s so important that you have to leave… or whatever.

#31 I’m 24 And Still Live With My Parents. This Is What I Got For Christmas

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#32 My Dad Just Posted This Photo With The Caption “Spring Is In The Air”

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#33 My Dad Just Made These Sneakers-Slippers. I Don’t Know To Laugh Or Be In Awe

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#34 Parenting Tip For Our Snow-Day: Hide Candy And Other Contraband In Plain Sight Inside A Container That Your Children Would Never Have A Reason To Look

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#35 I Met My Girlfriend’s Parents Today. Her Dad Liked Me Enough To Lend Me A Book. I Respect The Power Move

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#36 This Is What True Love Looks Like. My Mom Taking A Picture Of My Dad Acting Like He’s Stuck In The Dryer

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#37 My Wife And I Went To Disney World. Also, The Kids Came

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#38 My Son Was Really Excited When My Wife And I Agreed To A Pokemon-Themed Halloween Until He Saw My Costume

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#39 My Parents Just Got Internet, And My Dad Is Already Showing Videos To The Neighbors

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#40 My Mom Made The Pillow, And It Really Ties The Room Together

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#41 My 87-Year-Old Dad Came To Help. Instead Of Finding Him Working I Found This And Not Him

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#42 My Mom Got Me Custom-Made M&M’s

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#43 I Made Fun Of My Mom Because She Didn’t Know Tomatoes Were Fruit. She Made Me Fruit Salad For Dessert

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#44 Genius

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#45 I Love My Interactions With My Girls

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#46 We Got Our Kid Good, And He Fell Right For It Taking A Big Bite Of A Candy Coated Orange, Peel And All

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#47 My Dad’s Solution To Not Having The Correct Balloons For His Sister’s 40th Birthday

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#48 Proud Parents

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#49 A Picture Of My Dad After His Car Was Stolen On My Parent’s Honeymoon

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#50 My Wife Doesn’t Want Our Newborn Son’s Face Posted On Social Media, So She Asked Me To Censor Over It

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#51 My Parents Threw Me A Belated Birthday Party At Their House, And My Mom Was Confident She Had The Correct Candles Before I Showed Up

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#52 My Little Siblings Wanted An Easier Way To Get Through The Gate. My Dad Made Them This

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#53 My Dad Said He Packed Me A Snack For The Long Drive

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#54 After Helping With A Project, My Dad Accidentally Took My Husband’s Drill Bit Home In His Pocket. We Asked Him To Just Put It Somewhere Safe Until The Next Time We Meet And He Obliged

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#55 My Parents Have Contractors Doing A Long-Term Project, So My Mom Decided To Make It Festive

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#56 You Know Your Pops Is Committed To Dad Jokes When He Stops In The Middle Of A Six-Hour Drive In Wyoming Just To Take This Picture

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#57 My 68-Year-Old Dad Has Quarantine “Safe Box” And He Won’t Give My Mom The Combination

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#58 My Dad Said He Found Some Cute Baby Pictures Of Me And Handed Me These

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#59 Told My Dad To Grab The Sunscreen Before We Hit The Beach. We Sat Down, And He Handed Me This

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#60 My Mom Stopped Pretending My Dad And Brother Were Signing My Cards

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#61 My Dad Said People At Work Wouldn’t Stop Using His Personal Cup, So This Was His Solution

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#62 Found This On My Dad’s Label Maker

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#63 I Came Home And Found This. I Love My Mom

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#64 My Dad Asked Me If I Wanted An Egg Sandwich. I’m Not Even Mad, This Is Genius

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#65 My Mom’s Phone Is So Big That She Accidentally Used It As A Plate

Our friend had to point it out to her before she realized it.

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#66 My Parents Think They Are Funny

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#67 My Dad Thinks He’s Funny

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#68 Packing Light? Flasks Make It Way Easier To Carry Water In Your Pants Pockets, Although You May Get Some Funny Looks

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#69 Parents Waiting For The Bus On The Last Day Of School

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#70 My Dad With His Jokes

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#71 She’s Saving That Up For The Next Time She Sees You Drinking Wine

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#72 My Dad’s Most “Dad Solution” To This Run Down Eraser

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#73 My Parents Took Advantage Of The Graduation Sign Trend To Tease Me For Dropping Out

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#74 My Parents Wouldn’t Let Me In. Something About “Not Being On This List”

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#75 My Mom Washed My Snuggie And Hung It Up In My Room I Almost Had A Heart Attack

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#76 The Photo My Dad Took vs. The Photo My Mom Took

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#77 My Mom Is Diabetic. She Eats Rockets To Raise Her Sugar Levels. I Came To The Pantry Looking For Something To Snack On And Found This

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#78 My Husband’s Birthday Is This Week. My Parents Gifted Him This

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#79 My Friend’s Mom Tried To Bake A Hedgehog Cake For Her Birthday

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#80 My Dad “Fixed” My Lawnmower

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#81 My Mom Buys The Statues In The Stores And Puts Googly Eyes On Them For Her Etsy Store, And I Can’t Stop Laughing

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#82 The Picture I Get When My Mom Is Having Issues With Her Phone

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#83 This Report Card

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#84 I Introduced My Parents To Gel Guns Today

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#85 Mom Visits Dad In The Hospital. Who Gets The Bed? Mom

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#86 How My Dad Reads A Book

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#87 I Work From Home, So My Dad Wanted Me To Sign For His Package. Found This Sign Outside Our Door After I Signed. For The Record, I Am Not Disabled

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#88 My Mom Asked Me If I Wanted To See Her Melon

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#89 My Dad Said His Chickens Were Eating His Crops, So He Made These “Scarecrows”

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#90 My Dad Is So Funny

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#91 I Walked Past This A Million Times At My Parent’s House, But Just Read It Today

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#92 My Dad Wore This Shirt Out To Father’s Day Supper. He Works In IT. Our Waitress Was Not Impressed

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#93 My Mom Made A Uno Belt

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#94 My Dad Sent Me This Picture Of An “Elephant” On His Porch

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#95 My Dad Just Sent Me This With The Title “He’s Either Looking For A Hug Or Giving Up”

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#96 My Best Friend/Roommate Got Into A Bike Accident (Is All Okay Now), And We Called His Mom After We Got Home From The Hospital. When She Came Over To See Him, This Was Left On Our Fridge

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#97 My Dad’s Garage Organization

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#98 My Mom Keeps Getting Homeowner Association’s Letters About Leaves In Her Yard. This Is Her Response

“Roses are red
Leaves they fall
I rake mine
How about ya’ll?
​
My leaves are bagged!
They’re at the dump!
Yet I keep getting letters
From some chump.

This poor fellow
Must need employment,
Or he’s sick in the head
Harassing brings him enjoyment.

If that is the case,
Then he has my pity.
Perhaps he should move
To a far-off city.

Or better still
Go to outer space
Sending his letters
All over the place!

With my HOA dues
To pay for this decree,
“The entire cosmos
Shall be completely leaf-free!”

But our leaf hero
Is sadly an a**
For my trees are bare
And my lawn is just grass.”

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#99 My Mom Made This Cake For April Fool’s Day

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#100 My Mom Sent Me A Picture Of Her Water Bottle With The Caption “I’ll Get You Next Time Optimus Prime”

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#101 After My Dad Passed Away, My Mom Finally Organized And Labeled The Tool Chest In A Way That Made Sense To Her

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#102 The Instructions Were Not Clear, So My Dad Ended Up Putting The Curtain On Backwards

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#103 Parenting Skills 10/10

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#104 This Is What My Father Made For My Mother Because She Didn’t Take Care Of His Plant

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#105 My Dad Decided To Use My Nephew’s Stuffed Animals To Celebrate Easter In His Own Special Way

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#106 Diapers Are Smelly, Dirty, And Downright Gross, So They Make The Perfect Place To Store Your Valuables While You Take A Dip In The Ocean

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#107 I Haven’t Talked To My Dad In A Couple Of Days After An Argument We Had. He Left This At My Door. What Does It Mean?

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#108 I’ve Just Moved Back Into My Parent’s House

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#109 Favorite Mom Hack. Hide The Tiny Annoying Toys In The Diaper Pail And Toss Them Out Unnoticed. You’re Welcome

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#110 My Dad Wanted To Make Heart-Shaped Rose Cookies For Valentine’s Day. I’m Not Sure If I Should Tell Him

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