Many people have a love-hate relationship with April Fools’ Day.
If you don’t love surprises or pranks, April Fools’ is probably not your favorite day. But since we’re all trapped at home together, why not have a little fun with it this year? Your kids probably have something up their sleeves already anyway… may as well be prepared to get them back. Plus, there’s a special joy that comes with surprising your kids and making them laugh.
Pull any of these harmless April Fools’ pranks on your kids this year for some good fun and a good laugh!
Insect Lamps
Whether your family members get easily spooked by bugs or not, this is a fun one. All you need is a lamp with a shade, dark paper, tape and a pair of scissors. Instructions here.
Backwards Day
Put your clothes on backwards, but act totally normal, especially when your kids mention it.
Frozen Breakfast
Put your kids’ morning bowl of cereal or oatmeal in the freezer the night before and watch the confusion as they try to take a bite.
Underwear Swap
Sneak all of the underwear out of their dresser drawers, leaving only bathing suits for a morning surprise. Or swap your son’s underwear our with dad’s boxers and enjoy the confusion.
Brussels Sprouts Cake Pops
These easy DIY cake pops will excite and then immediately disappoint your kids. Instructions here. Once you’ve had your laughs, soften the blow by using this recipe to make actual cake pops with your kids.
Googly Eyes
This prank is extra harmless and silly. If you’ve got some googly eyes sitting in your kids’ craft stash, put them on the things your family uses or sees the most throughout the day to inspire some giggles. Inspiration here.
Raining Confetti
Place confetti on the top side of ceiling fan paddles and wait for someone to turn on the fan on. Messy, but worth it. DIY confetti tips here.
Fresh Batch of Brown-E’s
Tell your family you baked a fresh batch of brownies and enjoy the eyerolls when they find these.
A Little Tied Up
Gather all of your kids’ shoes that have laces and tie them together. You’ll have a good chuckle when they get up in the morning and realize they have quite a few knots to untie before they can get their shoes on!
Jell-O Juice
Watch your kids try to drink a cup of “undrinkable” juice (ahem, Jell-O). Instructions here.
Sugar Free Cookies
Take your go-to cookie recipe and make them with salt instead of sugar. You might want to get the camera ready to capture your kids’ faces when they bite into these cookies!
Pillow Prank
For one last prank before the day ends, sneak into their rooms before they go to bed to replace the pillows in their pillowcases with inflated balloons.
Whatever you do this April Fools’ Day, make it a day of joy and laughter! We could all use a little more of that right now.
