“Hey mom… remember when I said we were moving back to Maine? Well I lied. We bought this dilapidated slum of a house here in NC… it was only $49,000 and we couldn’t say no. If you want to check it out this is the address.”
….
“Sooo uhhh mom… I made a mistake and got a tattoo. Uhhhh yeah, that word is spelled wrong… I went to someone cheap.”
My poor mom has been through the ringer with all the April Fool’s jokes I have played on her over the years- there was no dilapidated house, no misspelled tattoo… but there was a lot of silence on the other line as she tried to choose her words wisely.
Honestly though, my mom is the QUEEN of playing jokes or tricks on people. Don’t let that sweet, retired school teacher persona fool you. Ask her about the giant Wiley Coyote she once stood outside someone’s door to scare them when they woke up. (I am pretty sure he is still hiding at the Boothbay Transfer Station if they still have the stuffed animals on display.) Or maybe ask her about the time a date said he was going to make her dinner, proceeded to give her a long and expensive grocery list of what she needed to buy and made her madder than a wet hen. So instead she told neighbors, who all happened to be hungry Rugby players, what happened and told them to hide out in her house. When the date showed up to make dinner she told him she decided to cook for him instead. She directed him to look in the oven- where he found several bags of Burger King- he got mad and stormed off, while the neighbor boys all jumped out, stifling their laughter and ate Burger King with her instead. So I come by all this naturally. She should expect something outrageous on April Fool’s or just in general from me (and now my kids.)
Now if you are anything like me, you sort of ignore April Fool’s and don’t tell your kids it’s coming up so they can’t prank you…. But that doesn’t stop you from wanting to prank them! Here are some fun ideas to trick your kids (or significant others or boss or co-workers) on April Fool’s!
- Switch out the underwear for each of your kids with adult underwear (or if you still have one in diapers put the diapers in the older child’s drawer.) For whatever reason kids seem to get a kick out of underwear jokes!
- Put your clothes on backward or inside out and then pretend nothing is different. You might even want to let your kids know that their clothes aren’t on properly.
- If you have some dye pellets for coloring Easter eggs on hand (or you can find them anywhere right now) use a small, thin piece of duct or electrical tape to adhere one just inside of the tap of the bathroom faucet. They will be shocked to see colorful water coming out!
- Make a dirt dessert (minus the gummy worms) and serve it up in a small, clean planter. Then ask your kids to help you plant some sunflower seeds. While planting tell them the soil has to be tested to make sure the seeds will grow. To test the soil you need to eat it… grab some from the top and pop it in your mouth. Insist that they try at least a tiny taste. Once they give it a taste reward them with a dish of dessert!
- If you have an older child change the background photo on their computer, phone, iPad, or other device to something that will embarrass them for all eternity. You and your spouse giving each other a big kiss, your kid as a naked baby, a photo of them sleeping- drooling gets you bonus points; get out all those photos you say will be on display at their wedding and use that blackmail now!
- Serve your kids caramel apples- but instead of apples in the middle place an onion!
- If you have sandwich lovers, send their sandwich to school in one of these bags. This also will keep your co-worker from stealing your lunch!
- Glue some coins to the sidewalk and then see how long they try to pry them loose. (I have been seen trying to pull these up at a restaurant once haha)
- Draw on their faces while they sleep (I don’t suggest that this year- it is a Monday after all, mama doesn’t need extra work on a Monday morning!)
- Cause some frustration and create an undrinkable drink by pouring Jello into a cup and insert a straw before it cools.
- Put a plastic spider on the toilet paper roll (one of my daughter’s favorite things to do at her grandparent’s house is to hide fake bugs and snakes in the showers.)
- Tape down the light switches!
- Let them know you will have “brownies” waiting for them after school… (brown paper letter E-s cut out. Somehow the photo for deleted and I can't add it from my phone....)
- Block the end of the TV remote with a piece of clear tape.
- Bedroom door Tug of War- If you have two victims with bedroom doors directly across the hall from each other (like a dorm!) Use a rope to tie both door knobs to each other, with just enough slack to allow one door to open a crack. Then knock loudly on both doors at the same time. Let the game of tug of war commence as they both fight to get their doors open!
- Take a needle and thread and run it through every pair of underwear in the dresser. That was they are attached in one long string and when they get dressed, they will grab one pair, but end up with them all!
- If you have a very sound sleeper, while they are sleeping, sneak in and use a needle and thread to sew their pajamas to the bed! Again- maybe not the best Monday morning prank! ALTHOUGH you could always pull the old stand by prank and turn the clocks all ahead an hour, watch everyone panic and then you know you have time to clean up!
- If your victim wears the same hat every day, the night before get it wet, and put it in the freezer. Then before it’s time to go place the hat in the normal place. They will get a chilly surprise! If you are feeling mean you can do this to a bra too!
- Set the victim's TV to an obnoxious channel (think annoying kids shows, music channels featuring Death metal) and then turn the volume up to max volume. Then turn off the TV and when your victim comes back and turns on the TV they will jump out of their skin!
- Change your kid/spouses contact for you in their phone to someone they contact frequently. Then start sending strange texts. (I did this to my husband using his dad’s name a few years ago- it was really funny!)
- Put a bowl of your kid’s favorite cereal and milk in the freezer overnight, then watch in the morning as your unsuspecting kid clanks a spoon against the frozen milk. Again, maybe the clocks need to move forward an hour because this is another way to slow down your morning!
And if you see the nail polish trick circulating... I will let you all know it isn’t as easy as you think It will be. You will end up with nail polish on the outside of the window in your bathroom (don’t ask haha.)
Please share any jokes you love!
