Funny happy birthday GIFs and videos

Birthday memes follow a few reliable shapes, and every one of them works better with their own photo:

• Expectation and reality. A glamorous old photo captioned “How you think you look at 30”, then last week’s sofa nap: “How you look at 30”.
• The fake serious tribute. Grand, slow scenes and a solemn line, then the last card: “Anyway, you owe me a tenner.”
• The exaggerated age. Put 104 in Age for their 30th. Old joke, reliable laugh.
• Nobody asked. “Things nobody asked for: your karaoke. Happy birthday anyway.”
• The pet’s point of view. Write the Message as if the dog is sending it, with its photo.

The punchline belongs at the end. Everything before it is set-up, so keep the earlier scenes straight-faced.

The best birthday jokes make the birthday person laugh first. A quick check before you send:

• Would they laugh if it played in front of their parents, partner or boss? In a group chat, assume it might.
• Tease what they joke about themselves (always late, terrible at karaoke), not what they are sensitive about.
• Age jokes suit some people and not others. If in doubt, leave Age empty.
• End kindly. A last line of “Love you really” turns a roast into a present.

Short is funnier

A GIF should make its joke in a few seconds; a video is best at 15 to 45 seconds. A joke that takes two minutes to arrive has lost its audience.

Music

For a video, a jaunty Happy Birthday arrangement from Add music under very serious photos gets a laugh, and it is free to use even in a public post. A comedy song from your own phone works too, though social networks may mute well-known tracks. More on that on the Happy Birthday song page.