April Fool’s Day pranks aren’t for everybody, but for those of us who get into them, we really get into them. Make sure that you’re aiming for laughter and not fear with your pranks, as you don’t want to make anyone angry. That’s not really a prank. That’s why I’ve compiled this list of harmless April Fool’s Day pranks for you! Get all your laughs in without actually hurting anyone, and live out your best mischievous life. I’m sure you have a bunch of your own ideas to add as well!
I once had a roommate do this with fruit, but you can also put eyes on everything in a fridge or cabinet. My roommate made pineapples, pears, and lemons into little people with googly eyes, mustaches, eyebrows, and mouths. Then in the middle of the night, she drove around to all of her friends houses and set up little assemblies of fruit outside of their homes for them to find in the morning. It was both the cutest and the funniest thing I had ever seen! Bonus: a squirrel got to some of the fruit and created some terrible and hilarious ‘fruit murder scenes.’
Post flyers of a voicemail ‘contest’ around campus or town with a friend’s number on it that asks contestants to call and leave their best impression, joke, etc. as a voicemail. Examples of contests you could invent include: a best Chewbacca roar contest, a best joke contest, a best haiku contest, a best (famous and recognizable person) impression contest, or whatever you think your friend would enjoy! Since your friend probably doesn’t want to answer calls from a bunch of random numbers, they will ignore them and get a huge surprise when they listen to their voicemails. Make sure to say there is a cash prize on your flyer to entice contestants into participating. Up to you whether or not you actually give one out.
For this prank, you will need to cut out a bunch of silhouettes of large, unthinkable insects and tape them to the inside of the lamps and lampshades around your space. Sit back and watch people notice these very large creatures just sitting there, waiting. This prank is honestly terrifying coming from someone who recently had a very large bug in her home. If it were a fake bug, than it might have been funny, but instead I searched the house vigilantly for the next few days! Don’t let it go on too long if someone seems really freaked out by them. You can also plant a little bug toy for them to find.
Surprise a friend, partner, or family member with breakfast on April Fool’s Day! Sounds too nice? That’s because I forgot to mention that it would be frozen. This works especially well with a bowl of cereal: pour milk and cereal into a bowl and submerge a spoon part way, then freeze it overnight so it is totally impossible to pull the spoon out in the morning. You can also do this without the spoon so they don’t recognize that it’s cold, instead jamming the spoon into the bowl repeatedly until they realize the prank that you’ve pulled.
You’ll need a flat surface, some glue, and some prep time for this prank, but the surprise will definitely be worth it! Set this fake spill on the counter if you’re nice, or on their laptop if you’re feeling a bit more naughty. There is no real harm with this prank, but definitely don’t pull it on someone who wouldn’t be able to recover from the fear of ruining their computer. Head here for all the details on how to make the best milk splatter. Fake splatters are great for April Fool’s Day pranks, but you can also use them on Halloween for decoration if you dye them red!
Naturally, you can fill an entire space with balloons and make it feel totally fun and festive, which I think is a super fun prank for someone who likes to party. Why? After April Fool’s Day is done, you can invite people over and have a little fun while exchanging the best jokes of the day. If you are super lucky and have a glass door, you can also tape a bunch of balloons to cover the glass on a door to make it seem like you’ve filled the room with balloons. Both are super fun, and it depends on your resources which one makes the most sense. Be sure to check if this person has a latex allergy before covering their space with latex balloons!!!!!!
Cut out just enough bubble wrap to go under a rug, or if you’re really committed, enough to go under someone’s bed comforter. When they walk down the hallway or flop onto their bed, they’ll have a loud little surprise! Loud noises always make people flinch, and you’re sure to have a good laugh together after they realize what’s going on. This prank also works with seat cushions or the rugs in someone’s car, so it’s pretty versatile.
Find a door that you can only push or pull one way and switch the signs so that everyone is instructed to do the opposite. This can be challenging to execute since people don’t tend to read signs and might be used to either pushing or pulling the door one way already, but for new doors or people who infrequently go to a specific place, this prank is total gold.
This is one of those April Fool’s Day pranks that works best in an office setting, but if you’re lucky enough to work in one, you absolutely have to pull this prank. When a coworker gets up to use the restroom or head to lunch, place a sticky note on their desk that says they missed a call from Mr. Lyon with a call back number that happens to be from the zoo.
You can get creative with this prank by changing the call back location or coming up with other clever names. Enjoy the very confusing phone call, and hope that someone at the zoo doesn’t tell your coworker who they’ve called until after they’ve asked to speak to Mr. Lyon.
Surprise a friend or family member with a bunch of pictures of a hilarious celebrity, yourself, or another entertaining person where pictures of their own friends or family used to be. This is one of those April Fool’s Day pranks that you can pull all at once if you like, or slowly swap out the photos over time so that they don’t really notice. Best for people who might not inspect a space while they are in it, it’s sure to spark some laughter when they realize every frame has someone new in it. This would also be funny for someone returning from vacation!
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