How to Play Harmless Pranks on Your Siblings

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: August 10, 2021 References

Are you upset with your brother or sister? Do you want to get revenge, but you don’t want to get in trouble with your parents? There’s no better way to mess with your siblings than to pull a harmless prank on them. Trick them into eating weird things, mess with their morning routine, or gross them out to prank them. Bonus points if you get it on camera!

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Pulling Classic Pranks

1
Squirt your sibling with a water bottle. Find a flexible plastic water bottle and remove the lid. Next, fill it with cold water. Trick your sibling into leaning over the water bottle and looking inside. When they do, quickly squeeze the sides of the bottle. Water will shoot out of the bottle and into their face.^{[1]
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- To convince them to look into the water bottle, tell them that you trapped a spider under the bottle. They’ll lean over to look into it.
- Alternatively, tell them you’re going to show them a magic trick. The first step of the “trick” will involve them looking into the water bottle.
2
Spray your sibling with fake snot. Cup your hand and fill it with water. Walk around until you find your sibling and sneak up behind them. Next, fling the water into their face while sneezing loudly. They will think that you just sneezed and sprayed them with snot!
- This prank works best if your sibling isn’t looking at you. Otherwise they will see that you threw water on them.
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3
Paint their pens and pencil with clear nail polish. Locate your sibling's favorite pens or pencils. Next, cover the tip with clear nail polish. Let the nail polish dry for about five minutes and replace the pens and pencils. When your sibling tries to use them, they won’t write at all.^{[2]
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- You can remove the nail polish by dipping the pens and pencils in nail polish remover.
4
Change the language on their phone. Log on to their mobile device and find the Settings button. This button is in different places on different kinds of phones. If you can’t find it, use the Search option. Next, find the Language settings. Change it from English to any other language. Your sibling will get frustrated when they try to use their phones.
- If you don’t know the password to their phone, wait until they set their phone down or ask to borrow it for a phone call.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Pranking Them in the Morning

1
Glue their deodorant shut. You will need superglue and a stick of deodorant. First, remove the lid of the deodorant. Squeeze a large amount of superglue all around the edge of the lid. Replace the lid quickly. After a few seconds, the super glue will dry and the lid will be impossible to remove.^{[3]
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- If you get any super glue on your fingers, use nail polish remover to get it off.
2
Create useless soap. Find a dry bar of soap and a bottle of clear nail polish. Paint the bar of soap with a few thick coats of clear nail polish. Allow the soap to dry for five to ten minutes between each coat. After three or four coats, the soap will be completely sealed in the nail polish. When someone tries to use it in the shower, it won’t create any lather at all.
- This technique works best with a brand new bar of soap. Older bars of soap can be soft and difficult to paint.
3
Make useless shampoo. Find some baby oil and your sibling’s favorite shampoo. Add a few tablespoons of baby oil to the shampoo and shake it to mix it up.^{[4]
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- It’s best to do this when the shampoo is almost gone. Otherwise, your parents may get mad at you for wasting a whole bottle of shampoo.
- The baby oil won’t damage your sibling’s hair.
4
Hide alarm clocks in their room. Find or purchase two or three alarm clocks. Set them all for different times before your sibling is supposed to wake up. Next, hide the alarms around their room. When the clocks start ringing they’ll have to get up and search for them before going back to sleep.^{[5]
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- For example, if your sibling wakes up at seven am, set the alarms for five, five thirty, and six am.
- Don’t do this right before a big day at school. Otherwise, you may exhaust them on an important day.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Tricking Them With Food

1
Leave a fake cake on the counter. This prank is especially useful on cake-loving siblings. Find a clean, new kitchen sponge and place it on a plate. Next, frost the sponge with icing and sprinkle it with sprinkles. Leave the plate of “cake” on counter with a fork. Sooner or later, your sibling won’t be able to resist trying a bite!^{[6]
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- Don’t use an old kitchen sponge. The icing won’t stick to the wet surface and it will smell bad.
2
Freeze a bowl of cereal. Surprise your sibling in the morning by freezing their breakfast. Pour a bowl of cereal the night before and put it in the freezer. The next morning, pour a small amount of milk onto the surface of the frozen cereal to make it look realistic. Place the frozen cereal in front of your sibling and watch as they attempt to eat it. ^{[7]
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- This prank probably won’t work if your sibling doesn’t like cereal. They may refuse to eat it and your efforts would be wasted.
3
Drop raisins in their drink. Wait until your sibling makes themselves a cup of tea or hot chocolate. When they’re not looking, drop a few raisins into their drink. The dried fruit will sink onto the bottom of the cup. When they finish their drink, they’ll see small black insect-like chunks floating towards them.^{[8]
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- This trick works best with warm, opaque drinks like coffee, hot chocolate, and tea with milk.
4
Prank them with the “hot sauce straw” trick. Find an old fast food drink cup with a lid and a straw. Take the lid off of the drink with the straw still inside. Next, open a small packet of hot sauce. Place the end of the straw in the hot sauce packet, set the packet and straw in the cup, and carefully replace the lid. Offer your sibling a sip of soda. When they take a drink, they’ll get a mouthful of hot sauce.^{[9]
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- Fill the cup with ice after inserting the straw and hot sauce packet. This will make the drink seem more believable.

Community Q&A

Question

What food prank would be the best?

Community Answer

Take a piece of toast and put green and yellow food coloring on it to make it look moldy. Ask them if they want some, when they look disgusted, take a bite.
Question

Do you have any pranks to do before bed?

Community Answer

Put food coloring on their toothbrush, they'll be surprised when they go to brush their teeth before bed!
Question

What is a good, quick prank?

Community Answer

Take a cup of water and pour it all over your sibling's pants in his bed while he sleeps! He will think he wet the bed.