Play an April Fool's Day Prank on Your Family

The first day of April is celebrated as April Fool's Day. On April Fool's Day, it's tradition to pull a prank on someone. If you're living at home, it can be fun to prank your family. You want to keep pranks silly and lighthearted, however, as you do not want to genuinely hurt anyone's feelings. You can play pranks with food and drinks, booby trap the bathroom, or mess with technology.

Steps

Playing Pranks with Food and Drinks

1. Coat onions with caramel. Caramel apples are a delicious treat many love. A fun way to mess with your family is to make caramel apples, but replace the apples with onions. Your family members will bite into an apple expecting a delicious treat only to be met with the taste of onion. Use a basic caramel apple recipe for this prank.
   • Buy a 14 ounce package of individually wrapped caramels, some milk, onions, and popsicle sticks. Place a stick in each onion you're using. Make sure to buy onions in the size and shape of regular apples. You should also remove the papery skins off of the onions. Use a knife to carve the bottom of the onion into a rounded, apple-like shape.
   • Remove the caramels from their wrappers and place them in a bowl. Add two tablespoons of milk, and microwave for 2 minutes, stopping halfway to stir. Allow the mixture to cool for a few minutes, and then coat each onion in caramel.
   • Set the apples aside where you family will find the treat or serve them after dinner as dessert.
2. Poke holes in a plastic water bottle and set it in the fridge. By poking small holes in a plastic bottle, you can create a booby trap for an unsuspecting family member. You can leave this trap in the fridge for someone to find later.
   • Take a plastic bottle of water. Hold it over the sink and poke holes in it with a needle. Some excess water will spill out. You can wipe this away with a towel.
   • Set the water bottle in the fridge. When someone picks up the bottle, the pressure from their hands will cause water to squirt everywhere.
   • You can also pull this prank with a bottle of soda, juice, or any liquid.
3. Put healthy treats in a chip bag. A lot of great pranks come from messing with expectations. Someone expects one thing, but gets another. You can pull a prank by replacing the contents of a bag of chips.
   • Get up in the morning before anyone is awake. Take a bag of chips from the cupboard. Gently open the bag along the seam, going slowly as to not rip the bag.
   • Dump out the chips into the garbage. Replace the bag with a healthy snack. Something like dried fruit or kale chips would work well here.
   • Once the bag is full, place a small amount of glue along the seam. Reseal the bag and set aside until it dries. Then, place it back in the cupboard.
4. Create fake lollipops with broccoli. Fake lollipops created with broccoli can be a fun prank to play if you have young children. Your kids will think you're giving them a sugary treat, when you're really providing them with health food. Keep in mind, very young children may react poorly to this, so it's a good idea to have some real lollipops on hand after you pull the prank.
   • Buy some lollipop sticks and some 6-by-6 inch pieces of wax paper at a craft store. You should also buy colored tissue paper.
   • Take a small piece of raw broccoli, about the size of a large marble, and put it on the end of a lollipop stick. Wrap the broccoli in the wax paper. Then, wrap the wax paper in a piece of colored tissue paper.
   • Leave the treats out for your kids to find or give them to your kids as a snack or after dinner or lunch.
5. Serve a family member fake sunny side up eggs made with yogurt and canned peaches. If you're in charge of making breakfast for your family, fake sunny side up eggs can be a great prank. You can make what looks like an egg out of yogurt and peaches, leaving your family baffled when they bite into their breakfast.
   • Put a dollop of plain white yogurt on a plate. Then, place a canned peach in the center of the dollop. This will look like an egg.
   • Serve this breakfast to a family member, or multiple family members. Keep in mind, if you don't usually make breakfast for your family, family members may get suspicious if you suddenly decide to do so on April Fool's Day.
6. Switch out condiments. Switch the types of condiments in the bottles in the kitchen. This will give people a shock when they expect one thing and get another. You can do this in the morning, before anyone is up, or get up in the middle of the night to make the switch.
   • It's a good idea to switch condiments that look similar, so whoever ends up using the bottle does not notice until he or she begins eating. You could, for example, place mayonnaise in the whipped cream container. You could also put spicy Sriracha sauce in the ketchup container.
7. Fill Oreos with toothpaste. A classic April Fool's Day prank can be done with Oreos and a bottle of toothpaste. Make sure the toothpaste you use is white, so it looks like the filling of an Oreo. As with many food pranks, it's best to do this early in the morning or at night so no one catches you.
   • Open each Oreo and then scrape off the cream. Be gentle, as not to break the cookie, and use a fork or spoon to help.
   • Squeeze a bit of toothpaste onto the center of one side of the cookie. Spread evenly on the cookie's surface, then place the other side of the cookie on top.
   • Place the Oreos back in the container. Leave them out in the cupboard for a family member to discover.
   • If you can't find Oreos, any other type of sandwich cookie will work.

Pulling Pranks with Technology

1. Change cell phone settings. Changing the settings on someone's cellphone can be an excellent prank. You'll have to wait until someone leaves their phone out, and take the opportunity to alter the settings. If you know where a family keeps his or her phone at night, you may be able to pull this prank then. You can also quickly grab a cell phone that's been left out on the table. You'll have to work fast in order to make the changes before your family member notices.
   • Change the phone's language settings. You can change the default language to French or Spanish, so the cellphone user won't know how to read his or her phone.
   • Find a contact that the user hears from frequently, like a girlfriend or friend. Change that contact's name to "Low Battery."
2. Install a Blue Screen of Death screensaver on a Windows computer. The Blue Screen of Death is the colloquial term for an error message that appears on Windows devices indicating the computer is seriously malfunctioning. Online, you can find websites that allow you to download a screensaver that shows up as the blue screen error message.
   • Wait until no one is near the computer. You may have to get up early, or stay up late, to do so. Once the computer is unoccupied, download the screensaver. Follow the instructions to download on the website.
   • It's a good idea to fix it so that the blue screen screensaver is the first thing a parent or family member sees in the morning. Therefore, you may want to get up early and turn the computer on. Then, leave it alone until the screensaver appears. Walk away, and wait for the first unsuspecting computer user to panic.
3. Tape a piece of paper over the bottom of an optical mouse. If your family computer has an optical mouse, there will be a small red light on the bottom. This is a light source that detects movement, allowing you to move the cursor. Taping a piece of paper over this light will prevent the mouse from working, frustrating a family member.
   • Wait until the computer is unoccupied to pull this prank. It does not take a lot of time, but you want to work fast to avoid getting caught. You can also get up before anyone is awake to pull this prank.
   • Any kind of paper works, whether it's from a notebook or a post-it note. You only need to rip off a piece big enough to cover the red light on the bottom of the mouse.
   • Tape this piece of paper to the bottom of the mouse. You may want to write something like, "April fools!" on the paper, so when your trick is discovered the family member will know they've been pranked.
4. Set the clocks back an hour. You can try messing with the clocks in your house. If you set them back an hour, your family members will be scrambling to get to work or school only to realize they're an hour early. You'll have to get up in the middle of the night and move from clock to clock. This prank is best to play on older relatives, as younger people may primarily rely on their cellphones to tell time. The time on a cellphone is generally connected to a cellphone tower, and cannot be set manually.
   • Set an alarm to get you up in the middle of the night. When it goes off, get up and get to work.
   • Move from room to room, setting the clocks back an hour. Target clocks on the wall, digital clocks, and clocks on ovens and microwaves.
   • You may have to reach a clock in your parents' room. Be very careful here. You'll have to open the door slowly, as not to be overheard, and tiptoe through the room to the clock. It may be a good idea to do a test run earlier in the week. While your parents are out, sneak into their room and examine the clock and figure out how to change its settings. You'll need to work fast when you're actually playing the prank, as stumbling with the clock too much can wake your parents.
5. Wrap household remotes in duct tape. While this prank is not subtle, it is annoying. You can place a heavy amount of duct tape over the remotes in your home, rendering them temporarily useless. When a family member wants to watch TV in the morning, they'll have to take the time to remove all the duct tape.
   • As with many pranks, it's best to do this early in the morning or late at night. Find a time to work when no one is awake.
   • Take a large roll of duct tape. Wrap the tape around TV remotes, DVD remotes, remotes to stereos, and basically any remote you can find. Wrap the remotes in several layers, so the duct tape will be hard to remove.
   • Leave the remotes where they usually are. When your family members wake up, they'll be irritated to discover they can't use the remotes.
   • Keep in mind you may get in trouble for this. If your family doesn't have a great sense of humor, you may end up having to remove the duct tape yourself. Only use this prank if you think your family would laugh it off rather than respond with anger.

Pulling Pranks in the Bathroom

1. Put Vaseline on the toilet seat. Vaseline is a clear substance and a very sticky one. If you lather the toilet seat in Vaseline, it will be hard to see. If you can't find Vaseline, petroleum jelly will also work here. An unsuspecting family member will sit down to use the bathroom and get an unpleasant surprise.
   • Check to see if there's Vaseline in your family's bathroom. If not, you can purchase some at a drug store before April Fool's Day.
   • It's a good idea to pull this prank at night so a family member will fall for it early in the morning. If someone is half-asleep and using the bathroom, they're less likely to notice the vaseline. Set your alarm to go off late at night, when no one will be awake, and then set up the prank.
   • Use gloves while handling vaseline, as it's very sticky, and you also probably do not want to touch the toilet seat with bare hands. Spread some vaseline over the toilet seat. Go for a thin layer of vaseline, as this will be less noticeable, and try to even out any bumps or lumps.
   • When you're finished, dispose of any evidence. Place the vaseline back where you found it. If you bought it for the prank, hide it. Throw out the gloves you used. Then, leave the bathroom as you found it.
   • Vaseline can be very slippery. Do not pull this prank on young children or the elderly, as it may cause them to slip and fall.
   • Be careful not to sit on this yourself!
2. Cover the toilet bowl in plastic wrap. Another fun prank involves covering the toilet seat in plastic wrap. If you have a lot of male family members, this can be particularly fun. Male family members will try to pee in the morning, only to have urine squirt back upward off the plastic wrap.
   • Get up before anyone else is awake. Take some plastic wrap from the kitchen. You also probably want to use gloves to avoid touching the toilet bowl with your bare hands.
   • Lift up the lid of the toilet seat. Place the plastic wrap over the toilet bowl. Try to make sure the plastic wrap does not crinkle, as this will make its presence more noticeable.
   • When you're done, put the lid down. Put the plastic wrap away, and dispose of your gloves. Leave the bathroom as it was before.
3. Paint soap with clear nail polish. A bar of soap that produces no suds is a great prank to play on a family member. You'll need a bottle of clear nail polish, which you can purchase at most grocery stores and drug stores, as well as a bar of soap. Go for the type of soap your family uses.
   • The day before April Fool's Day, take a bar of soap from the bathroom. Go to your room, or a private place in the house, and prepare the prank.
   • Paint the soap in a thin layer of clear nail polish. Paint slowly and use smooth strokes. Uneven layers may make the soap look suspicious. When you're done painting, set the soap aside to dry.
   • Once the soap is completely dry, put it back in the bathroom. In the morning, a family member will go to use the soap only to find it does not produce suds.
4. Fill the toothpaste container with mustard. Empty out a container of toothpaste in your family's bathroom. Then, refill the container with mustard. Your family member will be annoyed when they try to brush their teeth in the morning only to find their toothbrush coated in mustard.
   • You should do this prank early in the morning or late at night, to make sure no one catches you. You should also be sure to dispose of the evidence. You should empty the toothpaste into a plastic bag and then throw that bag away when you're done.
   • Keep in mind, if your family is on a tight budget, this may be more annoying than funny. You may end up having to pay for a new bottle of toothpaste. You should only play this prank if you believe your family members will take it well.
   • It can also be fun to choose a liquid similar in color to toothpaste, like mayonnaise. This way, your family member may not notice anything until they try to brush their teeth with mayo.

Tips

• Make sure the prank won't hurt anyone's feelings or hurt anyone physically.
• Put bubble wrap around the bottom of some body's bed and when they get up they will be surprised.
• If you don't want to put a bucket of water on a door, try balancing something soft like cushions, or pillows on the door, get to the other end of the room, and yell for help.
• Place a piece of clear tape on the faucet of your sink. When someone turns it on it will squirt them!

Related Articles

• Celebrate April Fool's Day
• Be a Good April Fooler
• Play the Best Pranks on April 1
• Make April Fool's Food
• Prank Your Kids on April Fool's Day
• Prank Food on April Fool's Day

Sources and Citations

See also

• Play a Prank
• Make Fake Vomit
• Pie Someone in the Face
• Moon Someone
• Make a Beginner Boobie Trap
• Make Fake Diarrhea
• Play Office April Fool's Day Pranks
• Make a Fake Cast
• Prank Your Mom
• Rick Roll Someone

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