Welcome, fellow Googlers. 

Never do I spend more time scouring the internet for brilliance than I do on the eve of April Fools’ Day. A yearly opportunity to show love to my kids through good natured pranking. 

Luckily for you—and for me—the best ideas require no advance planning and usually involve items you already have in your home. That’s what you’ll find here anyway. 

Okay, friends, let’s hop to it! 

The April Fools’ Day Pranking Parent’s Guide to Good Fun

But first, a quick note. April Fools’ Day is most fun when it’s fun for everyone. So be sure to keep these two things in mind: 

• Jokes don’t need to last long to be good. Let kids in on pranks before they get upset. 
• Be prepared to get (mediocre) pranked in return. Practice your shocked facial expression and your loudest laugh. Your over-the-top reactions will make their day!

My Favorite Simple April Fools’ Day Prank of All Time

Last April Fool’s Day presented the perfect pranking opportunity. Early pandemic days, kids home from school and lots and lots (you remember those days, right?) and lots of time to kill. 

Still, we kept things simple and pulled off perhaps my favorite joke to date: Brown-Es. 

To do this in your own home, grab some brown construction paper or a leftover Amazon box and cut out a few uppercase Es. Place each E on a plate and give a holler: “Brown-Es! Anybody want a brown-E?” 

Then wait. It won’t take long. Your kids will come running and, if they’re like mine, one might even say, “I smell the chocolate!” Try not to give away the joke with your giggles.

Wanna see how this went down with my own kids?

With bellies full of cookies, the boys went on to prank us by pretending to be one another, offering pretend food as real food and, ya know, shouting “April Fools’ Day” whenever we least expected it. 

5 More Tried and True Easy April Fools’ Day Pranks For Kids

Of course, we’ve loved other pranks too. Here are a few of our favorites: 

Frozen Cereal

Pour cereal and milk in a bowl and stick it in the freezer overnight. Including a spoon is optional. Serve it for breakfast and watch your kids try to eat with that early-morning confusion. 

Overnight Mustache

Grab eyeliner and sneak into your child’s bedroom at night to draw some surprise facial hair. Try not to say anything when they wake up—let the mirror do the talking for you. 

Autocorrect Mixup

Last year, I set my husband’s text messages to turn every “Hey” into “Hey all you cool cats and kittens.” It went over so well and I think this prank would work great on teens too. 

Simply go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement (or Shortcut). When adding a new shortcut, put the silly word or phrase you’d like to see in the space marked “Phrase” and the generic word you’d like to replace in the space marked “Shortcut”. 

Backward Clothes

Wear your clothes backward and act like your kids are the crazy ones for mentioning it. This one is next-level laziness but it’s also guaranteed to get some of the biggest laughs from little ones. 

Toilet Paper Tape

Grab a roll of duct tape, painter’s tape—or anything with a cardboard center—and do a quick switcheroo on the toilet paper holder. Just be ready to come to the rescue in your child’s time of need! 

What We’re Doing This Year

Shhhh . . . Don’t tell my boys, but I think we’ll start this year’s festivities off with a glass of blue milk, inspired by our family’s favorite show, The Mandalorian. A few drops of food coloring in the milk carton—remind me to grab the kind you can’t see through—should do the trick! 

How will you prank your kids for April Fool’s Day? Inquiring minds want to know! Share your ideas with us on Instagram or Facebook.