April Fool’s Day is coming up! I’ve always thought of this as a kid-to-adult holiday and not so much as a “Haha, joke’s on YOU, Kid” kind of day. This year I thought, ‘Why not?’ Why can’t we play jokes on our little ones to initiate them into this wonderful place called the Earth? I want to breed children who aren’t afraid to laugh at themselves, who take jokes on them as motivation to make someone else laugh, and who can easily brush things off… don’t you?
(Can you tell I’m trying really hard to justify playing tricks on 2-10 year olds?! Are you ok with the justification? OK, let’s move on, then!)
Here are some of my ideas for a kid-friendly April Fool’s Day:
1) The old switcheroo. Convince them that it’s backwards day and that they HAVE to put their pajamas on backwards – it’s a rule!
2) Mommy’s a baby. Crawl everywhere and act like a baby until they’ve (or you’ve) had enough.
3) Sorry, the kitchen is closed. Before they wake up, put up some caution tape (or something else) around the kitchen and tell them that it’s closed for the day.
4) Auf Wiedersehen! From the moment they wake up, speak a different language to them (just make it up if you don’t know a language that they aren’t fluent in).
5) Delicious AND healthy!? Make veggie popsicles from vegetable broth or the liquid from steamed veggies, but pretend they are AWESOME!
6) Wait… what was your name again? Call them by a different name… and use it a lot.
7) Psyche! Tell them you’re headed to a place they dislike, and then take them to the park (or some place cool) instead.
8) No, really – that’s what it says! Read a book they know, but tweak the story wildly as you go.
9) Mommy’s bedtime. Insist that they read you a story and tuck you in at night.
10) It’s my birthday again?! Blow up a bunch of balloons and put them in the kitchen. When they come in for breakfast, shout “Happy Birthday!”
11) Cere-OH! Hide a plastic spider in their cereal bowl. Eek!
12) Toasty surprise. Hide mini chocolate chips underneath the peanut butter on their toast.
13) Sorry, the house is closed. Cris-cross streamers in front of their door before they wake up. They’ll either think it’s a party or that the house is closed for the day. 🙂
14) Dinner is served… kind of… Serve dinner for breakfast and breakfast for dinner
15) A 6th day of school?! If it’s a weekend, rush them when they wake up and tell them they’re late for school
16) Twinkle, twinkle, who’s going tinkle? Put little bells in the toilet paper roll so that when they pull on it it makes noise (this is also a great trick if you have a chronic toilet paper waister!)
17) Cake for dinner? You’re the best mom ever! Make a cake, but cut out the entire center and fill it with veggies. “Frost” it with Cool Whip and serve!
18) Encore! Clap for them after every bite they take at breakfast.
19) It won’t come out! Freeze most of a glass of orange juice, but top it off in the morning. They’ll get a little, but the lower portion just won’t come out!
20) My hair is NOT sandwich bread! Wash their hair with mayo and eggs. It not only will be really confusing (and pretty icky), it actually has some cool benefits according to LIVESTRONG.
Here are some pranks other websites recommend:
Buzz Feed
Parenting
Kids Activities Blog
What are YOU doing for April Fool’s Day?
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