While this isn’t the only way to get back home from a nice and refreshing (or not) vacation, being picked up by friends or family from the airport is definitely one of the better options out there.
Unless you really, really hate their sense of humor because, of course, they will somehow find a way to have a laugh at your expense while waiting for you to step through the exit gate only to find an embarrassing “welcome home” sign. In that case, UBER it is?
C’mon, it’s their way of showing love. Embrace it.
#1 British Guy Here, Flew To Vietnam To Meet My Aussie Mate. Told Him I Wanted Him To Have A Sign For Me While Waiting For Me To Cross Through Customs. Guess Which One He Is
#2 Just Saw This At The Airport Waiting To Pick Someone Up
#3 My Greeting At The Airport! Good Lord Do I Love This Man
Way back when technology wasn’t advanced enough to allow for instant messaging anywhere, anytime, folks used to resort to more conventional, pen and paper versions of communicating information in public spaces.
In an official setting, these were generally used by chauffeurs and shuttle drivers to make sure the right people find their way to the right modes of transport. While that is still the case today, shuttle services, for instance, streamlined the process by simply providing maps and signs that lead folks to designated areas.
As for family members and friends, that’s a bit of a different story.
#4 Made My Airport Sign. He Loves Gaming, And So Do I, So I Thought This Would Be Cute. Can’t Wait
#5 Waiting For My Bestie At The Airport
#6 At The Airport Waiting To Embarrass Jimmy
Friends and family members are, by nature, more mischievous and hence more prone to pushing signs to their full potential. That is, to have some laughs at the expense of the person arriving. Hence, this listicle.
Speaking of which, the signs vary from wild to crazy to just a downright good one. Baby announcements, cheating declarations, “dad is useless” signs, welcome home from prison gags, surprise colonoscopy affairs—you name it, people have done it.
#7 Embarrassed The Wife At The Airport In Front Of Several Coworkers And Her Boss. She Loved It
#8 Was Picking Up A Friend At The Airport When We Saw This Great Welcome Back Sign
#9 When You Get Welcomed By Your Family At The Airport! Couldn’t Help But Laugh
Signs aren’t the only way to welcome someone home, though. Besides them, there are more romantic approaches, like meeting your partner at the airport with an engagement ring in hand or organizing a surprise (luxury) shuttle.
There’s also the option of keeping it more simple and simply greeting your friends or family with gifts: flowers, sweets or other edibles that hit close to home, gift shop surprises, heck, tickets for another flight or anything else really are also great gestures to welcome someone home (just make sure the tickets are not the same day—they do be wanting their beauty sleep).
#10 I Embarrassed My Friend Picking Her Up At The Airport
#11 I Saw This Majesty Today While Visiting The Airport
#12 And This Is How I Make Sure Never To Be Asked To Pick Up My Parents From The Airport Again
When it comes to flowers, Billy Heromans has an entire guide on flowers for greeting loved ones at the airport. What you want to say depends on the type of flower that you pick up (e.g. pink carnations represent a mother’s undying love, while yellow roses symbolize joy and friendship) and even the color (e.g. red’s for love and romance, pink is for happiness, peach is for friendship and caring, you get the gist). So, pick up some flowers, arrive early, and dress for the occasion for maximum effect.
#13 Picking Up Our Bff At The Airport The Right Way…she Couldn’t Stop Laughing At The Sign I Made!
#14 On Airport Pick-Up Duty
#15 When Your Life-Long Best Friend Of 25 Years Comes To Visit, You Have To Pick Her Up From The Airport In Style
Psychologist Dr Ronnie Siddique, trained in psychodynamic, interpersonal, and cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as mindfulness and meditation, mentioned in a blog post of hers that practical jokes among people are a subtle form of play-fighting. These imply a sense of closeness or an insider group feeling in relationships. Considering this, such pranks are often pulled on folks the pranksters believe are close to them and know they can handle a joke.
#16 I Picked My Mom Up From The Airport
#17 Finding A Ride From The Airport Can Be Tricky
#18 When You Ask Your Brother To Pick You Up From The Airport After A 25-Hour Flight
Humor and laughter in general releases endorphins and oxytocin—chemicals associated with happiness and social bonding. So, yes, it’s good for us. And by proxy, making someone else laugh because of your prank is good for them too.
But a prank is good in so far as it has a positive outcome. Positive pranking entails a number of things, including making sure that the prank is harmless—one that makes the pranked person laugh too—all the while keeping yourself available for being pranked too. It’s all about play, not taking things seriously, and being able to laugh at yourself too.
#19 I Embarrassed My Friend Picking Him Up From The Airport
#20 We Made It Home. And The New Sign Is A Winner
#21 My Son’s First College Roommate Picking Him Up From The Airport After Spending Christmas At Home
Airport signs are considered positive pranks, though they are only one of many examples. Whoopee cushions, sticky door knobs, “come over here” when there’s nothing there pranks, replacing family photos with celebrities—all are harmless fun if the likely end goal is laughter and fun. If you need more inspiration for some harmless pranks, We has a list compiled for that. You’re welcome!
#22 How You Greet Your Kid At The Airport
#23 I Can’t Believe He Pretended Not To Know Me
#24 They Have Finally Landed. I Can’t Explain How Happy I Am
Now, if you wanna create your own airport pickup sign, it is actually very easy to do so. For the most basic design, you’re gonna need a cardboard box—the bigger one of its sides are, the bigger your sign will be in the end. Cut that out, slap on some text using a marker or leftover paint you don’t care about, and viola, you’re done.
#25 A Photo Journey Through Airport Pickup
#26 Picking Up My Daughter From The Airport
#27 I Like To Welcome Home My Friends From The Airport With Funny Signs
If you do, however, want to add more depth into your artful sign, get some scotch (not the drink, though that may help too) or duct tape and a stick. Apply both generously on the bottom part of your sign and you now have a sign that’s easier to hold. If you have more than one color and artistic prowess equivalent to or higher than that of a 5-year-old, you can draw something on it too. But if any of this is a problem to any degree, there’s an app for that (Apple, Android).
#28 A Wholesome Airport Reunion
#29 I Flew My Bestie In For Her Birthday And Talked My Husband Into Holding Up This Sign
#30 Picking Up Some Special People At The Airport Today
If you’ve enjoyed this list, boy do we have a surprise for you. This is actually a continuation of another list we posted way back when, so enjoy more funny and embarrassing airport pickup signs.
But if you’ve had enough scrolling for one day, then please be sure to leave a comment detailing some of your favorite airport pickup signs in the comment section below!
#31 Picking Mum And Dad Up From The Airport
#32 My Brother Extended His 3-Month Trip To Thailand Nearly The Same Day He Was Supposed To Be On His Way Home. He Finally Came Back. I Was Eagerly Waiting For Him At The Airport
#33 Picking Daddy Up From The Airport After His Colorado Training For Work
#34 We Decided To Embarrass Our Daughter At The Airport After 3 Months Away (We Don’t Normally Dress This Way)
#35 Friend Comes Home After A Year Away. I’m Taking This To The Airport
#36 After A Week Off From Being A Dad, I Had To Embarrass My Wife And Daughters At The Airport
#37 Sent Half Of My Team To Omaha For Training This Week, Welcomed Them Back In Style Tonight. I Don’t Think They’ll Be Asking Me For A Ride Again
#38 Every Time My Dad Picks Me Up From The Airport He Makes A Sign …
#39 Made It To Israel With Some Dude
#40 Welcome Home, Mum
#41 We Were So Happy To Pick Up Family Members Last Night At The Airport! They Flew Home For The Iowa State Fair
#42 Friend Showed Up To Airport To Pick Up A Male Roommate
#43 All My Life I Wanted Someone To Meet Me At The Airport With A Giant Sign, And It Finally Happened
#44 My Boyfriend Picked Me Up From The Airport
#45 Picked My Daughter Up At The Airport After Her First Semester Away From Home And Made A Sign
#46 Seen At The Airport Tonight
#47 Went To Pick Up The Wife At The Airport After Her First Trip Away Without The Kids
#48 When You Pick Your Friend Up From The Airport
#49 My Daughter Came Back From New York, And This Is What We Made For Her
#50 Best Husband Ever
