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We could all use a laugh, so give these easy pranks a try at home.
By Arianna Jeret
Last updated on Apr 01, 2024
April Fools' Day has often seem like no laughing matter over the last few years, but now we're ready to bring back some fun with hilarious and easy pranks to do at home.
Taking a break from our normal daily routines to share some funny jokes with friends may just be what the doctor ordered. And while we could all do without depressing or boring news stories on April 1st, let alone any other day of the year, get the laughter flowing with a few pranks.
After all, April Fools' Day keeps the emphasis where it belongs: on finding joy and laughter, even when everything in the world feels so wrong.
Research clearly shows that laughter provides multiple health benefits, including stimulation and enhanced functioning of critical organs (including the heart, lungs, and brain), activation and relief of your stress response (leading to overall relaxation), improved immune system functioning, pain relief, and improved mood.
And if you have kids, having a few April Fools' Day pranks and tricks up your sleeve is a great way to bring a smile to their adorable faces.
Here are the 25 best easy pranks to do at home that the whole family can enjoy.
1. Talk in a funny voice or made-up language.
Do you speak Pig Latin? Do any ridiculously bad accents? Even gibberish will do. Start speaking in a different voice or "language" from the moment everyone gets up, and keep it going until you (or they) can no longer stand it.
2. Dress backwards.
Put all of your clothes on backwards and go about your day's Zoom calls and/or online instruction as though everything was normal (you know, like we're all trying to do anyway). You could even collaborate with a partner and place bets on how long it will take for someone to notice.
3. Rearrange furniture or decorations around the house.
Of course, be sure not to create any safety hazards as you go, but you can certainly create some laughter-Inducing confusion. And, who knows, maybe you'll even like the new layout and decide to keep it for a while.
4. Create a flash-back lunch for your older kids.
I can't be the only one with some sippy cups and plastic plates left around the house despite my children's current status as teenagers. Set up their lunches using their former favorite eating utensils. Groans and eye rolls practically guaranteed!
5. Drop 'spoilers' for your shared favorite TV shows.
Start by "impressing" everyone with the fan theory you just discovered about that Netflix show you're binge-watching together. They'll be more than relieved to learn you have no idea what really happens.
6. Convince friends and family you've become an Instagram influencer.
Share photos of yourself "promoting" your favorite home items on Instagram — perhaps your favorite scrunchie, your least stained sweats, or that security blanket you've been carrying with you from room to room since this all began.
7. Ask someone to read a series of words.
Have someone in your family read these four words out loud: eye + ship + mice + elf. Try it yourself and you'll quickly understand why.
8. Glue money to the floor.
Do your kids ever love when you give them money or they find coins on the street? Get super glue and glue coins or even a dollar bill outside your door, and ask them to go on a walk. That will be the first thing they see, so get ready for them to be confused when they can't pick it up.
9. Accidentally 'cut off' your finger.
This is a perfect and gruesome prank for kids! Get started by ordering a fake severed finger online, and then when you're chopping up your kid's fruit in the morning, scream like you cut your finger off. Bend your finger in half, and put the fake finger in front of it.
Young children will probably be scared, so save this one for your older kids.
10. Put fake bugs on them.
This is one of the easiest yet funniest pranks you can do. Buy a few fake creepy crawlers like spiders, beetles, and other tiny insects. Spread them all over the house and freak out the kids. Walk by one of your kids, or maybe drop it on their shoulder or head, and let a sibling or your partner point it out.
11. Scare them with bubble wrap.
The best way to wake your kid up is to surprise them. On April Fools' Day, put bubble wrap on either side of their bed so when they step out of bed, they'll hear the loud pop of the bubble wrap and be woken right up!
12. Lick 'nail polish' off your fingers.
This is a prank that dad can do with the kids to prank mom. Convince her to have a little spa day, and gift her new nail polish that tastes yummy.
To start you'll need a small amount of honey, corn syrup, white frosting, metallic or other colors of food coloring, edible shimmer dust, a new empty nail polish bottle, a tiny funnel, and a spoon.
Mix together all the ingredients and pour the mixture into the bottle. The kids can then paint their nails with mom, and then lick the polish and prank her.
13. Break the remote.
Do dad or the kids like to watch TV a lot? Stick a piece of tape over the sensor of the remotes in the house so that whenever the kids or your husband try to watch TV, it won't turn on. Try asking "why don't you change the batteries?" and then watch them struggle as even new batteries won't help.
14. Stick googly eyes on everything.
This is a great prank to do, but it might be a bit tedious. Order online or go out and buy a large number of googly eyes. Stick them on all the food in the house including fruit, jars, bottles, gallons, and more. Get a laugh out of the whole family!
15. Freeze their favorite cereal.
Add some laughs into your kid's morning by pranking them with frozen cheerios or their favorite cereal. The night before, pour milk and Cheerios into a bowl and add a spoon. Freeze them together and bring the bowls out in the morning, just before your kids come to the kitchen.
Get a kick out of their reaction when they realize the Cheerios are frozen and they can pick up the frozen bowl by the spoon.
16. Create 'No-J' for breakfast.
Prank your kids during breakfast by creating fake orange juice with a mac and cheese packet, water, and an empty orange juice carton. Fill the carton about 2/3 full with water and add the cheese packet, then shake it up. Get ready for the look of disgust on their faces when they drink the concoction.
17. Create a water disaster.
This is a perfect prank for the kids to try out on dad or mom. You'll need a notecard and a marker, a thin piece of cardboard, your parent's keys, a cup, and water.
Take the keys, write your message on the note (something nice but sinister), and then drop the key into the glass. Fill the glass with water and put the piece of cardboard over it, flipping it quickly onto the counter.
Tug the piece of cardboard fast so no water gets out, and then you have a perfect water trap.
18. Put chocolate on the baby's diaper.
If you have a baby at home, this is the perfect prank to play on your spouse. Get a diaper and smear it with Nutella or chocolate. Call your spouse in as you slick the chocolate from the diaper. Watch them look at you with disgust. (Bonus points if you do it while changing the baby.)
19. Rubberband their favorite toys.
Take your kid' favorite toy or gaming device, maybe even your spouse's phone, and wrap as many rubber bands that you can around them the night before. Wait until morning and watch them struggle to get their favorite things out of this rubber band trap.
20. Hairspray the toilet paper.
Prank your kids or spouse with an evil toilet paper prank. Put hairspray on the loose edge of the toilet paper and stick it to the toilet paper role seamlessly. Hear them struggle as they try to open up the new role while failing epically.
21. Create celebrity family photos.
Do you have nice family photos around the dining room? See if your kids or spouse notice as you replace your family's faces with celebrity face paper cutouts. See how long it takes them to notice, and get some laughter when the kids start asking questions if they're related to Millie Bobby Brown or JoJo Siwa.
22. Bite into a 'moldy' sandwich.
This is a perfect but harmless prank for the kids to scare mom, dad, or their friends. Start with green and yellow food coloring, bread, and your favorite sandwich fixings. Put together your sandwich, and when you're done, add small drops of green and yellow food coloring on both sides of the bread.
To get into more detail, you can also use a black food coloring marker. During lunch, bite into the sandwich and watch mom or dad freak out.
23. Switch out their snacks.
Prank your kid with their favorite snack bags as you switch what's inside for a snack they hate. Got green beans, quinoa chips, or kale chips? Open the bottom of their favorite snack bag and dump out the contents, while refilling the bag with the snack they don't like. Then, glue the seams of the bag and get ready for major confusion.
24. Make broccoli lollipops.
Kids often hate their vegetables, but what if it came in the form of a lollipop? For this prank, you need to cut a piece of broccoli into the shape of a Tootsie pop or a nice round lollipop. Remove the candy from the end, stick the broccoli on and wrap it up.
25. Create a jello cocktail.
This is the perfect prank for the kids to make a nice evening drink for mom or dad. Make jello and pour into a nice wine glass or cocktail glass. Add limes or ice into the mix to fake it even more. Voila!
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Executive Editor Arianna Jeret, MA/MSW, is a writer, former family law mediator, and recognized expert on relationships and conflict resolution. Her work has been featured in Cosmopolitan, The Huffington Post, Yahoo, MSN, Bustle, Parents and more.