How to Celebrate April Fool's Day

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 22, 2022

April Fool's Day is a holiday that is enjoyed all around the world. Although many countries and cultures celebrate the day at different times and in different ways, all of them enjoy playing clever pranks on their friends and family. Learning a few pranks for April Fool's Day can help you get a few laughs, have a lot of fun, and make the most out of the holiday.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Playing Simple Pranks

1
Make someone spray themselves with water. For a simple and easy prank, head to your kitchen sink and bring a rubber band with you. Tie the rubber band around the trigger on the hose attachment. When someone goes to turn the sink on, water will spray out of the hose and give them a surprise shower.^{[1]
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2
Coat a bar of soap in clear nail polish. If you have a bar of soap and some clear nail polish, you've got an April Fool's Day prank in the making. To do this prank, coat the bar of soap in the clear nail polish and allow it to dry. When someone goes to wash their hands, they will be quite puzzled to find that the soap isn't working.^{[2]
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3
Take batteries out of remotes. A simple trick you can play on your family members or house mates is to remove the batteries from any remotes. When they go to turn on the TV, nothing will happen, causing them to wonder what's going on. For extra fun, try replacing the batteries with something silly like baby carrots or leaving a note that says “April Fools”.
4
Put up a “wet paint” sign. Putting up a “wet-paint” sign can be a simple and effective prank. You can enjoy watching people try to avoid wherever it is you've placed the sign. For extra fun, try putting it in busy places or areas where people have to walk. Stand by with some friends and share a few laughs together as you watch people go out of their way to avoid the “wet-paint”.
- You can try putting the sign on a friend’s locker and watch them carefully try to open it.
- Putting the sign on a floor in a busy hallway can cause a lot of funny reactions.
- Try putting the sign on a front door and watch people try to carefully open it.
5
Stare up at the sky. If you are out in a public place on April Fool's Day, you can try staring up at the sky. You don't actually need to be looking at anything, but it can be funny to cause other people to look up at something that isn't there. Try getting others to stare up at nothing with you, to make the prank more convincing.^{[3]
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- You can try pointing to add even more emphasis.
- Try talking about what it is you are pretending to look at with your friends.
- Ask people if they see “it”. Try to convince them that it's something small and try to get them to say they can see something that isn't really there.
6
Speak in another accent. To do this April Fool's Day prank, you will need to be in a room with other people. When someone leaves the room, quickly ask everyone to speak in a different accent when the person returns. Act like nothing is out of place and speak together in a new accent to confuse the person.^{[4]
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- You should all agree on using one type of accent.
- Don't respond at first if the person asks what is going on. Deny that anything unusual is happening.
7
Use the classic whoopee cushion. Some pranks are considered classics and the whoopee cushion is one of them. You can try putting a whoopee cushion in someone’s chair, resulting in a funny and embarrassing sound when they sit down. Your friend will be confused and hopefully amused to find that you were the one behind this classic prank.^{[5]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Playing Food Pranks

1
Make caramel or chocolate dipped onions. Many people enjoy the taste of caramel apples. Not as many people like the taste of caramel onions. Prepare some onions like you would when making caramel apples, coating them in either chocolate or caramel. Tell your friends you've made them a sweet treat and enjoy watching their surprise as they bite into an onion.^{[6]
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2
Offer your friends some “ice cream”. Putting mashed potatoes into an ice cream cone can be a fun way to trick your friends. Use an ice cream scoop to place the mashed potatoes in the ice cream cone, put some sprinkles and chocolate syrup on it, then serve it to your friend. Have fun watching them enjoy their “ice cream cone”.
3
Replace cookie filling with toothpaste. Maybe you know someone who can't refuse cookie. You can try taking out the usual cream filling and replacing it with toothpaste to offer them a delicious prank on April Fool's Day. Have fun watching their reaction to the new flavor. Use these steps to pull this prank off:^{[7]
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- Take the cookie apart. Be careful not to break the cookie.
- Scrape off the cream filling.
- Apply the toothpaste to the middle of the cookie, replacing the cream filling.
- Carefully put the cookie back together. Be careful not to squeeze the toothpaste over the edge.
4
Switch salt and sugar. A simple trick that you can play at the dinner or lunch table, involves swapping the salt for the sugar. Since both salt and sugar look alike, most people won't notice that you've switched them until it's too late. Use these simple steps to pull this April Fool's Day prank off:^{[8]
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- Take off the lids for both the salt and sugar containers.
- Dump the salt into a bowl.
- Pour the sugar into the salt container.
- Pour the salt into the sugar container.
- Seal them both back up and wait.
5
Add some food coloring to milk. It can be a lot of fun to watch someone's reaction as they pour purple milk into their breakfast cereal or morning coffee. To do this simple prank, pour some food coloring into a milk carton and mix it well. Pour a little bit out to make sure it's colored before leaving it for someone to find. Then it's time to sit back and wait for someone to pour out the milk.^{[9]
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- Make sure the milk container is not transparent.
- Only add food-safe food coloring to the milk.
6
Put a gummy worm in an apple. No one wants to eat an apple with a worm coming out of it, making April Fool's Day the perfect opportunity to offer such a treat. To do this prank you will need to punch a hole into an apple and put a gummy worm into it. Hand the apple to your friend with the worm facing away from them, preventing them from seeing it at first. When they turn the apple around, they'll be in for a wormy surprise.^{[10]
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Offer some candy rocks. Eating some “rocks” in front of your friends can be a great way to surprise them on April Fool's Day. To do this prank, you will need buy some candy rocks. These candy rocks look just like real stones, but are actually edible chocolate treats. Offer your friends some of these “rocks” to eat. When they refuse, happily eat them yourself and enjoy the looks on their faces.
8
Switch cereal bags. Switching the bags inside cereal boxes can be a simple April Fool's Day prank that you can play at home. All you will need to do is take one bag from a cereal box and switch it with another. When someone goes to pour out their favorite morning cereal, another type will come pouring out instead.
9
Make brown E's. For a funny April Fool's Day prank, you can try making some brown E's using brown paper and a pair of scissors. Cut out a bunch of letter E's and put them in a serving container. Bring the container to a party or work and tell everyone you've brought brown E's to share. Enjoy their reactions as they look at your brown E's, instead of the brownies they were expecting.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Playing Computer Pranks

1
Put a post-it note on a mouse. For a quick April Fool's Day prank, you can try putting a sticky note on the bottom of someone's computer mouse. Most mice today are laser mice and need the laser light to reach the desktop or mousepad in order to work. The sticky note will block the laser and render the mouse useless. Enjoy watching your friend figure out what the problem could be.
2
Make a fake “error” message. Computers are prone to errors and no one wants to see an error message pop up. Since it's April Fool's Day, you can play a little prank on a friend by creating a fake error message. It can be funny to watch your friend try to fix an error that doesn't actually exist, before telling them it's a joke. Use these steps to help create a fake error message:
- Visit http://fakebsod.com/ on your friend’s computer.
- Press f11 on your keyboard to enter full-screen mode.
- Click the link that says “visit BSOD page”.
- Leave the computer and wait for your friend to try and use it.
3
Unplug the mouse or keyboard. It's unlikely that a mouse or keyboard cable will disconnect on its own and most people don't look behind their computer when something goes wrong. Since this is the case, you can play an April Fool's Day prank on your friends by unplugging their mouse or keyboard. Have fun watching them try to figure out what the problem might be.
- Make sure you don't unplug something other than the mouse or keyboard.
- Tell your friend it was a joke before they get too confused.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Having a Safe April Fool's Day

1
Think of the person you are pranking. Not everyone enjoys the type of humor behind April Fool's Day pranks. Before you play a prank on anyone, you should be confident that they will find it both fun and funny. Playing a prank on someone who doesn't enjoy this type of humor can be mean and cause them to feel hurt or angry.
2
Consider if the prank is mean. April Fool's Day is all about having fun and playing silly pranks. If you are considering playing a prank, make sure that you aren't being mean in doing so. A good prank should make everyone laugh, including the person it's being played on. Always keep your April Fool's Day pranks in an amusing and inclusive spirit to make the holiday fun for everyone.
3
Know when it's appropriate to play a prank. There are sometimes and places that are better than others to play a prank. While there are no hard rules when it comes to playing pranks, there are some obvious situations where playing a prank might be inappropriate. Take a look at some of these examples to learn when it may or may not be okay to do an April Fool's Prank:
- Avoid playing a prank during a class or meeting.
- Playing a prank on your friends while hanging out together should be fine.
- Don't play a prank on someone if you know they are having a bad day.
4
Learn the local customs. Although almost every culture that participates in April Fool's Day enjoys playing pranks, the type of prank varies. If you are traveling abroad during April Fool's Day or want to include some international pranks in your holiday, try using some of these examples:^{[11]
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- In France, it's tradition to secretly tape a fish on someone’s back.
- It's normal to throw flour on people in Portugal during April Fool's Day.
- In Scotland, people will send others on silly errands that don't actually have a point. For example, they will be asked to deliver a letter to someone. The letter simply tells the recipient to have the person deliver it to someone else.

Community Q&A

Question

Are these pranks harmful?

Community Answer

No. These are safe pranks as long as you follow the guidelines.
Question

Where can I find examples of more pranks?

Community Answer

You can search up one of these pranks on YouTube and watch a video of people being pranked. You could search up a fake error message prank too.
Question

If April Fool's Day is on Easter, should I still do my pranks?

Community Answer

Sure! You can still do lots of fun Easter-themed pranks.