The Doorstep Smile Inducer

We all like to be made to laugh or smile. So you turn up at someone's doorstep and chuckle at the funny doormat you're about to wipe your feet on. How great is that?

But that doesn't happen most of the time, for the obvious reason that most people don't have such a humorous welcome mat waiting there to greet you at their door. Maybe you could suggest they go get one since it's a fun thing to do.

How Do You Feel?

Next time you go and visit someone else's home, stop on the doorstep and think about how you're feeling just before you ring the bell. You might be experiencing one or other of the following aspects of your mood:

• Are you in a nonchalant mood, not feeling any kind of emotion whatsoever?
• Are you feeling apprehensive because the person you're visiting scares the life out of you for some reason or other?
• Are you feeling sad and it has nothing to do with the person you're visiting?
• Or are you feeling sad because it does have something to do with the person you are visiting?
• Are you feeling angry about something?
• Are you frustrated because of something that has recently happened to you?
• Are you feeling resentful toward someone or something?
• Are you smiling to yourself because you just saw something funny?

Now of all the previous emotional states, I'll bet a dime to a dollar you would probably prefer to be experiencing the last one, right? Sure you would!

Printed Doormats to Wipe Your Feet On

You (or anyone else for that matter) can buy a great doormat that can lift the mood of most people with a silly, clever or witty slogan or image that brings a welcome smile to their faces when they arrive on your doorstep. You can buy them online in a huge variety of designs with a vast array of different, humorous captions.

Of course, not everyone will think this is a good idea. You might think it’s a great idea, but what about some people who might visit your home? Not everyone will find something as funny as someone else.

Here is where you are going to have to remember that you can't please everyone all the time. No truer saying has ever been said, as far as I can see.

Most people opt for the bland approach with a bland, nondescript doormat that is simply there for guests to wipe their feet on. It's the easy solution to a problem that, for most folks, doesn't even exist.

Do What Makes You Feel Good

The simple answer is for you to go ahead and do what makes you feel good. If that includes giving your house guests reason to smile when they get to your front door, then buy a funny doormat and enjoy making most of them laugh!

You can read more on this in our article that talks about how to amuse your guests with humorous doormats or take a look at some of the examples that you can buy online in the right hand column on this page. All in all, it’s a good idea if it appeals to your sense of humor, which for most folks is the way it should be!

Crude Doormats: A Step Too Far?

There are doormats with funny or witty slogans, images and fun themes that make visitors smile, but do some rude or even crude doormats go too far? That's the question this post makes as it takes a look at some of the designs that are pushing the boundaries of what is welcoming and humorous and what might be viewed as unacceptable.

It's one thing to be greeted with the kind of tongue-in-cheek doormat slogan that says something like "Oh no, not YOU again!" It's another thing entirely to be greeted by an offensive slogan that might poke fun at certain physical traits, for instance: "Oh no, not the FAT UGLY guy again!" or something to that effect.

What is Acceptable?

I guess what might or might not be considered acceptable depends on the person on the receiving end of the joke. Everyone has a certain threshold for what they consider to be acceptable or not.

Some may shrug off a really offensive message as little more than silliness gone a little further than necessary. Others may find the same message to be excessively vulgar or even extremely offensive to them.

Intent

The thing with inanimate objects such as doormats is they offer their message, slogan or witty joke to every caller equally, without discriminating or trying to be personal. This is probably the major stumbling block for anyone who might be considering placing a mat with a very crude message at their doorstep.

While the intent may be to make certain of their guests laugh uncontrollably at what they consider to be a real howler of a joke, it can backfire if another caller is more easily offended. To be in a position to offend no-one, the homeowner must choose their welcome mat wisely and carefully.

So if you're thinking about getting a doormat with a really crude message printed on it because you know your friends will think it's funny, remember you should also consider what your mom, granny, or for that matter the local clergyman might think of it.

If you cam put your hand on you heart and say with honesty that you think it would make your mom, granny and anyone else for that matter laugh, then its probably OK. But if you're not so sure about that, you might want to re-think the kind of message you want your visitors to be greeted with the next time they come calling at your home.

Rude Doormats to Laugh At

Everyone likes to be made to laugh by something they find funny and those catchy, sometimes humorously rude doormats are no exception. Doorsteps everywhere are rips for transforming into impromptu smile makers by replacing dull, plain or worn out doormats with colorful, witty and downright hilarious ones.

It's not as if you need to go hunting around the stores to find some great examples of really good mats, either. In fact you are in the right place to uncover a wealth of different designs, clever slogans and even slightly risque themes.

Make Your Guests Laugh

Laughter is a wonderful thing to experience and when someone gives you something to laugh at; they're giving a gift of laughter that is always well received. When a guest turns up at my front door, they are greeted with a humorous slogan and slightly rude image on my doormat that always puts them in a great mood before they ring my doorbell.

Have you ever visited a friend or family member, or even a complete stranger for that matter and been greeted by a comical door mat that made you smile?

I'm sure you have at least once recently and I'm willing to bet that if you haven't, you probably wish that you had! There's no getting away from the fact that its really nice to smile and to find something to smile at.

Search for Unusually Funny Images

Often, a simple image can convey a humorous situation that brings a smile to your lips without needing a written slogan to back it up. These are often the more funny examples of the genre because the visual impact of an image hits your brain and gets process faster than text can.

The beauty of this kind of welcome to your home is that new designs are being created all the time. So even if you get tired of a particular mat that at first made you laugh, you can easily replace it with a new one.

The best part about this is that these mats are relatively inexpensive and so are perfect for creating that warm, smiley welcome that regular visitors will not tire of because you can replace them at regular intervals.

Is a Rude Doormat Too Much?

Some more prudish folks might balk at choosing a rather rude slogan or image, which is fine if you're not keen to be too vulgar. And you might want to have a "clean" replacement at the ready if you're expecting a visit from your local clergyman!

But in the main, most people will see the funny side of a rude welcome mat. Even if they outwardly condemn such vulgar frivolity, you can bet they had a secret inner smile to themselves before putting on the harsh veneer!

So don't be afraid to take a chance on a really funny welcome mat for your visitors. There are so many to choose from, there's bound to be some that will appeal to your sense of humor, no matter how wicked (or otherwise) it might be!

Amuse Your Guests with Humorous Doormats

There's nothing as welcoming for guests to your home than to give them a big smile when they look down at the mat before they even rang the doorbell! A funny doormat always raises a smile and creates a happy atmosphere for your guests.

Finding the perfect amusing doormat to achieve the widest grins used to be hard work, since there weren't too many of them that you could even buy. But things change and as it has become easier and cheaper to produce good quality door mats with witty printed slogans and amusing images in full color.

Buying Funny Doormats Online

Of course there is no place like the Internet to provide you with such a wide selection of different printed mats for your front door. It's a little like the old days of mail order companies that used to advertise funny t-shirts in comic books and magazines where you'd get a great selection of slogans to choose from.

Now it is even simpler because there is no mailing involved for the customer. You simply browse a website, find the design you like and hit the "buy" button to add it to your virtual shopping cart. Then you pay by credit card and your stuff gets delivered to your home.

Simple is Sensible

By making it really simple to order good online, the vendors of humorously designed doormats can show off all their wares on their website. The great thing about this way of selling is that they can display as many designs as they want at no additional cost per entry.

That's very different to the old days of magazine and comic book advertising where the vendor would pay a premium rate for a full page spread and still not have enough space to display all their designs to their fullest advantage. That saving in advertising costs can be passed onto the customer with lower retail prices.

So Make with the Funny Stuff

The upshot of this avalanche of widespread availability of these great mats and the lower prices when you buy them online is you can afford to change your doormat at regular intervals so frequent guests to your home have new stuff to make them smile when they visit! It's a great way of keeping your home's entrance clean and fresh in more ways than one!

There's nothing quite like welcoming someone into your home when they already have a great big smile on their face!

So check out the selection we have for you and see if there's something you quite like. If you want to see some more of them, click on the link in the right column to open the full page in your browser.