All Eyes On You

Your kids’ eyes will pop when they open the fridge to find all the food staring back at them. To play this joke, just grab a bag of googly eyes from the dollar store and stick them on every food item in your fridge. Rearrange things for the biggest laugh factor, like turning an apple on its side to make the stem area look like a mouth.

Upside Down House

Give your kids a wacky morning surprise. While they are sleeping, walk around the house turning objects upside down, as much as you can. Go from room to room, or focus on just one room, flipping over photos, furniture, toys, and other household items. When the kids wake up and walk out of their rooms, they won’t know what happened.

Easter Fools

Since Easter and April Fools’ Day fall on the same day this year, we thought it would be fun to combine the two. Here are two egg-cellent pranks to play on the kids.

  • An Easter basket full of… veggies? Fill your child’s Easter basket with faux candy, such as broccoli lollipops, cherry tomato “chocolate” eggs, and baby carrot “Tootsie Rolls.” Simply remove candy and chocolates from their wrappers—set the real candy aside in a container for kids to enjoy later—and swap them for vegetables instead. As the kids dig in and unwrap their sweets, they’ll get a silly surprise.
  • An unexpected egg hunt. The Easter Bunny was mischievous this year! Note: This prank is best for older kids and tweens. Fill plastic eggs with small rocks—they’ll sound like candy as kids shake them—and superglue the two halves together; then watch as the kids try to open them. Of course you’ll want to have a few real treats mixed in with the trick eggs.

This article was originally published in December 2024.
Christina Cook

Christina Cook is the associate editor for Colorado Parent magazine.