For the family that likes to get in on the good-natured fun (take our poll to let us know if this is you!), this list is a resource of easy and fun ideas for kid-friendly April Fool's tricks!
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Pour a cup of juice and freeze it overnight. Have this waiting for them to "drink" at the breakfast table.
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Take an empty donut box and put fruit and veggies inside, close it and let your kids open it on their own for a healthy and funny surprise!
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If you go into your “General” Settings on an iPhone, select “Keyboard” then “Text Replacement” to create shortcuts. This useful feature becomes a hilarious prank when you substitute commons words with silly ones, like “the” with “collywobbles”. My tween has played this one on me quite a lot, and it cracks me up every time!
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Put a few drops of food coloring at the bottom of their cereal bowl, and let the kids pour in their own milk and watch the color change!
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Take a screenshot of your tween or teen’s home page on their phone and set it as their new home screen and lock screen wallpaper. My daughter just did this to me and it had me scratching my head for longer than I’d like to admit. 😁
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Switch your kids into their siblings' beds while they are sleeping.
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If you've kept your ice cube trays in these days of automatic ice makers, add a plastic bug or two to this next batch for the good old "bug in your drink" trick! Tip - the closer the water is to boiling point when you pour it into the tray, the clearer the ice cubes will be when they freeze.
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Stick googly eyes on all of the food in the fridge, or all of the fruit in the fruit bowl.
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Use a Sharpie to write "Happy April Fools' Day!" on a sheet of toilet paper that is still on the roll for some surprise reading when they are in the bathroom! Even better, write a short joke: upparent.com
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Frozen cereal: pour a bowl of cereal with milk, and include the spoon too. Freeze it overnight for an April's Fools Day breakfast.
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If your kiddo has a phone, send them a text with a “loading” GIF image and a message like, “check out this funny GIF!” They might be waiting a while to see that GIF load...😁
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If it's a school day, wake them up by telling them it's a snow day! When they squeal and look out the window, they will know your prank (unless it really IS a snow day which it was one April Fool's for us!)
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For breakfast, make a pretend egg by topping a puddle of vanilla yogurt with a canned peach half.
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Use toddler dinnerware to serve your older child breakfast...sippy cup, tiny spoon, divided plate, etc!
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Offer your kids a brownie for dessert ... the letter E written with a brown marker.
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If your kids would laugh later at this...tell them it's "Wacky Wednesday at school" and remind them to wear their best mismatched crazy outfits.
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My son's first grade class got a Spring Word Search to do at school with words like flowers, sunshine, grass, etc - except none of the words were actually in the puzzle! We all thought it was such a funny April Fool's prank for kids - though it would have been even better if the only words in the puzzle were "April" and "Fools" :)
