April Fools’ Day has been celebrated in one way or another since as far back as 1582. Not everyone got the news that the primary means of telling the date had switched to the Gregorian calendar in the 1560s, so when some continued to celebrate the New Year at the end of March/beginning of April, they became the butt of jokes and were referred to as April Fools.
Because of the very nature of the holiday (joking around and just general silliness), it’s no surprise that kids love April Fools’ Day.
Here are some fun ideas for how to celebrate April Fools’ Day with your kids:
Fool’s foods for lunch
Catch your kids off track while at school and surprise them with a prank lunch!
Broccoli Pops – All you need is a broccoli floret, a lollipop stick, and tissue paper. Simply stick the broccoli on the end of the lollipop stick and cover it with tissue paper. This is sure to start a fun cafeteria conversation with all of the kids. Don’t forget to pack extra for their friends!
Tootsie Carrots – Along similar lines as the Broccoli Pops, you could treat your kiddos to some Tootsie Rolls with their lunch, only for them to discover that they are actually carrots in disguise!
See Food – A cute and simple lunchbox prank is to add googly eyes to their lunch items. There is no limit to this one… you can them to boxes of raisins, bananas, potato chips, fruit, and so on…
Bug Out! – If you are going for more of an EEEK factor, then adding a few rubber critters (roaches, snakes, spiders) into your kids’ lunches should do the treat.
Start the morning off silly
Mixed up Bedrooms – before your kids wake up, sneak into their rooms and rearrange things: turn all the books upside-down, set up the stuffed animals and dolls in creative ways (think Elf on the Shelf type set-up), hang underwear from their ceiling fan blades.
Frozen Breakfast – Pour milk and cereal in a bowl the night before and stick it in the freezer. That morning add just a little milk (and maybe cereal) to the top to make it look good. Your kids will not know what is going on.
Sound the Alarm! – Hide several alarm clocks throughout your kid’s bedroom and set them to go off every couple of minutes that morning.
Swap the Drawers – similarly, swap out the contents of your kid’s clothing drawers. When they look for a shirt, they may find undies.
Potty Humor – Unroll the toilet paper, write jokes on the sheets, and then roll it back up. If your kids can read, they are sure to get a kick out of these. To make it even easier, you can buy these on Amazon, here.
Pop Surprise – Put a few pieces of bubble wrap under rugs or bathmats so it pops when the kids walk on them.
Bigfoot! – Fill your kids’ shoes with socks or tissue paper so they “don’t fit.”
Other fun ideas
Bedtime POP – before bedtime rolls around, remove their pillows from the cases and fill the cases with balloons instead, giving them one last laugh. (Just be sure to remove all the balloons from their beds before the final tuck-in).
Donut Seeds – when your kids get up in the morning, give them a cup of cheerios and tell them that they are donut seeds. Let your kids plant the donut seeds, and surprise them later in the day when a box of donuts has magically grown where the seeds were planted.
Sponge Cake – Grab a thick sponge and cover it with your kid’s favorite icing and sprinkles. Then, just sit it out on the calendar and watch your kid dig in.
More Googly Ideas – If you’re in a pinch, just put googly eyes on everything! (You can even get giant sets for the outside of your house, trees, trashcans, etc.)
What’s your favorite family-friendly prank? Let us know in the comments.
