April Fool’s Day is right around the corner! Every year, I start out with good intentions but then I get busy and don’t have time to concoct some elaborate plan of trickery.
So, here are some quick, easy and most importantly, kid-friendly ideas for celebrating April Fool’s Day at your house!
Want to make it educational? National Geographic shares the origin of April Fool’s Day.
20 April Fool’s Day Pranks, Recipes and Ideas!
1. My kids have never forgiven me for the year when I bought some succulent strawberries and dipped them in sugar…only to find out it was salt.
2. Speaking of salt, sprinkle a bit of it on your child’s toothbrushes the night before.
3. Put a couple of very small drops of food coloring on your child’s toothpaste. They won’t notice until they start brushing and their mouth turns a different color.
4. If your kiddos are deep sleepers, carefully put them in a different bed when they are asleep. There’s nothing like waking up in a difference place.
5. Lunch surprise. Open a small bag of Cheetos from the bottom and replace them with carrots before carefully taping it back up.
6. Open up the lid of your child’s shampoo and put a piece of saran wrap underneath. Nothing will come out when they go to wash their hair.
7. Grüß dich. For older kids, go in and change the language on their smart phone. Just make sure you know how to switch it back!
8. Stuff some toilet paper into the toes of their shoes so they’ll think they grew overnight.
7. Take down some wall hangings and replace them with your child’s shoes. Or put them in funny places.
8. Swap the cereal in the boxes so they need to track down their breakfast in the correct box.
9. The night before, pour their cereal and milk into a bowl and freeze. The next morning, they’ll have a frozen surprise when you call them down for breakfast.
10. Turn their room upside down while they’re asleep. Everything from furniture to toys to pictures to books.
11. While they’re sleeping, adjust their alarm clock a half-hour early. This one will go over splendidly well. 🙂
12. Tell your kids to clean their room. When they do it, have a co-conspirator go in and mess it up a bit again. When you go to check their work, laugh at their reaction.
meatloaf cupcakes
15. For a fun April Fool’s Day dinner, make meatloaf and put them in cupcake tins and wrappers and top them with colored mashed potatoes that look like frosting.
Author: Amber Johnson
Amber is the founder and editor of Mile High Mamas, travel writer and former columnist for The Denver Post. She is a passionate community builder and loves the outdoors. She has two awesome teens and is happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin.
HaleyAnn
Nice concise list. Like you, I’m always a last-minute April Fool’s person. Last year I made a sponge cake with an actual sponge and found a maze online without an ending.
Savannah
We’re big whoopee cushion people. Obnoxious, I know but so fun.
Jeanne
Short sheeting!!!!!!!
Sunnie
How fun, thanks for posting, I love what you said about 16! I love pranking my girls, last year, when they went to school, (we home school now) at wake up time, I screamed that they were late and the bus driver was at the door! I laughed so hard I cried! I also did the brown e’s on them last year, that;s a fun one! Thanks again. I read in a magazine that a lady did newspaper on their doors so when they wake up they are blocked in by it, and have to rip through it. Im doing that one, I bought some cheap tape just for it! I can’t wait!