April Fool’s pranks & tricks, for the unsuspecting people in your life

Enjoy this blast from the past with a few April Fool’s tricks from Allison — Because April Fool’s pranks are timeless, I guess! 🙂

Note from Rachel: Back in the day, we had a couple of other contributors to the blog — and I just ran across this April Fool’s post from Allison from 7 (!) years ago. My, how the time flies, but maybe you’ll get some ideas for this April Fool’s here.

Ideas for April Fools tricks and pranks

Soooo… April Fool’s Day is coming up soon! I happen to love this day, because I love messing with my kids. I usually spare my husband… but really, no one is safe. Here are a few fun & easy ideas to get your kids this April Fool’s Day!

Got milk?

Here are a few tricky breakfast ideas to start April Fool’s morning out right:

1. For a fun breakfast prank, put a little food coloring in the bottom of a cereal bowl & cover it with cereal. When the milk is poured in the bowl, it will change color.
2. Freeze a bowl of cereal with milk the night before, and watch your kids try to dig in the next morning.
3. Make “Jell-O juice” the night before: Make instant Jell-O according to package directions — except pour it into juice glasses with straws, and let it set up over night. They’ll think it’s juice, which will be funny… but then they will get to eat the Jell-O, which is a fun treat!

Text Tricks & more

And, here are a few ideas for the older kids…

1. My friend Susan had a terrific idea to text her college-aged kids about a “two week family vacation.” This is great for all types of families: I have a feeling her kids will be bummed about this being a fake trick. My kids, on the other hand, will freak out about the idea of having to spend 2 weeks with us….
2. If you have ceiling fans in your kids’ bedrooms, use a hole punch to make A LOT of confetti. Place it on top of the fan blades & it will “rain” confetti when they turn on their ceiling light. (I did this once & my daughter didn’t turn her fan on for a few weeks. April Fools isn’t always on April 1st over here!) Plus, then they have to vacuum their own room, making this a win-win situation.
3. If you have brown construction or scrapbook paper, cut out several “E” shape. Put them in a pan, cover it with aluminum foil, and tell your family that “there’s a pan of Brown E’s on the counter!”
4. If you are a Mean Mom (which I am) you can really get them if you have an old envelope from their school. Send your elementary & junior high aged kids letters from the district about “mandatory summer school.” For your high schoolers, a letter about sports ineligibility (works wonderfully, by the way) or having to repeat a semester is sure to get your teens feeling a little panicked. Create a realistic letterhead for even more believability.

Fake it to make it!

So many possibilities…

1. You can always order fake parking tickets to REALLY get your teen driver or your spouse. Keep them in mind again for next year, or later use. These are handy to have on hand in general, too, since you can “ticket” people for poor parking & for creating their own parking spaces…
2. Here’s another idea for the drivers in your house: Tape a poster board sign on the back of their car that says “honk & wave as you pass me — I have no idea this sign is on my car! Happy April Fools Day!”
3. Leave the plastic wrap on the American cheese on your kid’s or spouse’s sandwich.
4. Set out a mixed bowl of Skittles and M&M’s… So excellently mean.
5. An oldie, but a goodie: Remove the caps from the shampoo/conditioner/body wash & cover the opening with plastic wrap. Replace the caps, and lurk outside the bathroom door for some hilarious frustration.

Tricky Technology

Fun with phones and more…

1. If you can get a hold of your tween or teen’s phone, you can set up keyboard shortcuts. For instance, every time they text the word “and,” it could change to “I LOVE MY MOMMY,” or change “ok” to “FROZEN IS MY FAVORITE MOVIE!” Use your imagination. Once I changed my name & phone number in my daughter’s phone to her crush’s name. Realizing it was actually her mommy calling was… well… crushing.
2. If you know someone who is all about grammar, change “are” to “our,” “their” to “there,” etc.
3. If you have snack bag sized chips for your children’s lunches, open the bags from the bottom & switch the snacks. Cheetos become Fritos, while Fritos become Cheetos. Tape the bottom of the bag closed, and your kids will have a confusing lunch!
4. If your kitchen sink has a sprayer, a well-placed rubber band can give someone an unexpected bath. “Honey, could you give the dog some water?” Heh heh.

Dinner is… SERVED

They’ll be talking about this one for weeks:

1. If you are a creative cook, whip up some cupcakes that look like dinner. It’s one day a year: Dessert first, real dinner second, and they’ll remember it for years!
2. If you have a bottle of white school glue, then you have spilled milk. Pour a thin puddle of glue on a piece of waxed paper, let it dry & peel it off. Place it on the keyboard of someone’s laptop, and wait for the gasp.
3. If you have a SmartTV, you may be able to download an app that acts as a remote control. Change Pretty Little Liars to the History channel without even looking up from your phone. If not, a little piece of clear tape over the sensor can have a similar effect.
4. An onion dipped in caramel looks just like a caramel apple. (The retaliation for this one could be harsh, so prankster beware!)
5. And if you have little kids, putting Googly Eyes on all of the food in your fridge can definitely be fun.

Monitor Madness

Want to have fun with your coworkers? Ever play with the CTRL + ALT + arrow keys? Give it a try. (CTRL + ALT + up arrow puts the screen back to normal.)

If you have any more April Fool’s ideas to share, please leave a comment here!