April Fool's Day

These last-minute April Fools' Day pranks are so fun.
kali9/E+/Getty Images
Last-Minute Ideas For April Fools' Day Pranks

Because you’ve got to prank someone.

by Lauren Schumacker and Alice Emory
Updated: 
Originally Published: 

It happens to the best of us. March rolls to a close, and we’re so excited by the warm weather, and it no longer feeling like the sun sets at noon, that we totally forget April Fools' Day is upon us. We wake up on April 1 completely unprepared for pranking… with no uncooked rice to leave in our husband’s shoes. No fake rubber vomit to drape over our child’s iPad. But do not despair! With these last-minute April Fool’s Day jokes, there’s still time to amuse and annoy your loved ones with some silly hijinks.

These simple, easy pranks take practically no effort at all. And when you're short on time, that's the ideal kind of prank. From swapping the sugar with the salt, or freezing someone's breakfast cereal, rest assured there are endless ways to ruin entire meals and make everyone sigh heavily!

A lot of today’s April Fools’ jokes have been relegated to online pranks, with companies releasing silly ads and tweets. (Remember when Amazon was going to ship thriller writer Patricia Cornwall to their customers?) But it might be fun to share with your kids some of the goofy, pre-Internet pranks of the past. They’ll likely get a kick out of the BBC’s 1957 joke, when a news program aired footage of people harvesting spaghetti from spaghetti from trees. Why not tell the kiddos about it over a spaghetti dinner on April 1? And then serve the whole family a chocolate cake that is actually an iced Cheerios box.

1

Change Someone's Google Language

This prank will frustrate a person to no end. According to The Huffington Post, it's pretty easy to change someone's Google language. Simply log on to their computer, go to Google's website, select "Settings" and "Search." There will be a drop-down menu that lists interface languages. Simply choose your favorite and watch as your friend flusters.

2

Fill A Room With Balloons

All you need for this prank is a bag of balloons and a little bit of time. Filling someone's car with balloons would also do the trick, but would definitely up the frustration level because you'd probably make them late to wherever they were headed.

3

Frost A Sponge

According to Instructables, making a sponge brownie is simple. Just take a sponge, spread some chocolate (or whatever flavor you'd like) icing on it, top with sprinkles, and wait for someone to get ready to eat.

4

Change Up Autocorrect

If there's one thing technology has given people, it's more ways to play tricks on the people they love. According to Mashable, prank someone by switching up their autocorrect by going into settings, adding a new (or change an existing) shortcut, and then start texting. A fool-proof (or is it) prank for April Fools' Day.

5

Cling Wrap A Doorway

As long as no one comes running through the door, this is a funny way to prank your family. Pull cling wrap across a doorway and watch people bounce off of it when they try to go inside.

6

Post-It Note Something

This prank is so easy and (I think) always funny. Grab a stack of sticky notes and cover the entire surface of a desk, table, computer, cabinet, TV, or car with them. Bonus points for covering the whole room.

7

Glue A Coin To The Ground

According to the aforementioned article from The Huffington Post, all you need for this prank is a coin (or something else of value) and a little bit of glue. Affix the coin to the sidewalk with some glue, then point out the coin to whoever you're trying to prank. When they go to pick it up, they'll have a bit of a struggle on their hands.

8

Superglue Something Shut & Ask For Help

zoranm/E+/Getty Images

This prank works on just about anybody. Superglue a pen cap to a pen or a lid on a jar that you don't need anymore and ask someone to help you open it. Good luck.

9

Swap Mayo For Vanilla Pudding

This prank, from the previously mentioned article from Mashable, requires you to fill an empty mayonnaise jar with vanilla pudding. Then, pull the jar out of the refrigerator in front of whoever you're hoping to prank and eat directly from the jar. Offer them some too for added effect.

10

Make Soap That Won't Lather

This prank is sure to make someone frustrated. According to Instructables, you need to take a bar of soap and paint it with a coat of clear nail polish. Let dry and then place it back on the soap dish. When someone tries to lather it up to wash their hands, the suds will be nowhere to be seen.

11

Put A Rubber Band On The Sink Nozzle

This one's a classic and takes less than a minute to implement. Loop a rubber band around your sink sprayer and when someone goes to turn on the sink, they'll get a face full of water. Refreshing, no?

12

Put A Little Hot Sauce On A Tooth Brush

Also relatively harmless, but maybe slightly mean, add a few drops of hot sauce to someone's tooth brush and rinse away the red coloring as noted in the aforementioned article from Mashable. Make sure you're around when they brush their teeth so you catch the reaction.

13

Fake Cake

If you're going to prank me this way, you better also have a real cake waiting in the wings. The fake cake prank, according to the previously mentioned article from The Huffington Post, involves icing and decorating a cardboard box to look like a cake. No one will know it's not truly a cake until they go to slice it.

14

Sneaky Manicures

This one needs to be completed the night of March 31. But all you need is a bottle of bold nail polish, so you can creep through while your family is asleep and paint every single person’s toes neon pink. It should make for a very glamorous and amusing April 1.

15

Bug Prank

I kind of love this prank from Bored Panda. You just cut out the outline of a cockroach, then tape it inside a lampshade, giving the illusion of a large bug lurking inside. Both very easy and deeply gross.

16

Give Your Fruit Some Googly Eyes

Here’s something cute for little kids. Gather up some googly eyes (which, if you have little kids, you undoubtedly also have a bag of small plastic eyes in a drawer somewhere) and glue the eyes to all the fruit in the fruit bowl. This is sure to garner some giggles, though word of warning, it may also result in your kid refusing to rip out the innards of Mr. Banana and eat him for breakfast.

17

Scotch Tape Trick

This is a super easy trick that’s sure to frustrate. Put a piece of Scotch tape over the sensor on the TV remote. Then sit back and snicker while somebody gets very irritated while they try to change the channel (perhaps even going so far as to change the batteries). Let them know what’s up before they throw the remote out the window.

18

Soap Dispenser Trick

Think: What would be something really gross to wash your hands with? Maple syrup? Olive oil? Pour the soap out of the bathroom or kitchen dispenser and replace it with something else liquid that’s definitely, definitely not soap.

19

The Very Wet Shower Prank

This one requires some stealthy sneaking. While someone is taking a shower, creep into the bathroom and take all the towels out, then quietly shut the door behind you. Wait to hear the sound of the shower turning off, followed by “hey, where’s my towel?”

This article was originally published on