April Fools’ Day is a fun holiday to share with your family. While many April Fools’ Day pranks are mean or messy, we’ve gathered a dozen kid-friendly tricks that will make your kids giggle. Start off the day with frozen cereal and fake OJ, put googly eyes on items in lunch boxes and put bubble wrap under the rug for a popping good time. Read on for more April Fools’ Day fun.
1. Jelly bean ice dispenser
Fill the ice dispenser on the fridge with jelly beans and watch them squeal with delight as the candy clinks into their cup. If your kids are not fans of jelly bean, substitute a small candy they love (that won’t damage the ice dispenser!).
2. Blue bath time
According to the Kids Activities blog, you can use a cotton swab to spread some blue gel food coloring on the underside of a faucet. Kids will love blue bathwater! You could give other faucets in the house, such as the bathroom and kitchen sink, the same treatment but with different colors.
3. Balloon avalanche
Tape a garbage bag filled with balloons above a partially open door in their room. When they open the door in the morning, they’ll be greeted with a fun balloon avalanche!
4. Nail polish soap
Paint a thin layer of clear nail polish all over a bar of soap. After it dies, set the painted soap next to the sink and ask your kids to wash their hands. They will be confused and amused as the soap refuses to get lather up.
5. Extra special Easter eggs
For snack time on April 1, Ashley at Frugal Coupon Living suggests treating the kids to some mini chocolate eggs. But this isn’t really the chocolate treat they were hoping for as these delicious treats are actually grapes disguised as candy.
6. Funny face eggs
Draw faces on eggs with a Sharpie. Put the eggs back in the carton with the faces clearly visible. Innocently ask one of your kids to hand you an egg or two for a recipe. It’s the prank that happens over and over because you probably won’t use all of the eggs at once.
7. Jell-O juice
For another fun juice trick, make some Jell-O in the same color as your children’s favorite juice or sports drink. Pour the liquid Jell-O into clear cups, add a straw and refrigerate overnight. Serve the “juice” as a treat.
8. Solid cereal
Start April Fools’ Day off with this fun breakfast prank from She Saved. The night before, freeze bowls of cereal in milk. Kids will be confused when they dip in a spoon, only to encounter a solid block of ice instead of their usual cereal.
9. Somebody’s watching
If your family members like to grab an apple or banana as they pass by the fruit bowl, this prank is for you. Stick googly eyes on apples and bananas (and everything in the fridge!) so that when they look at the fruit — it will be looking back at them! For extra fun draw on a little mouth and watch your fruit take on a whole new personality.
10. Don’t touch the remote!
Simply place a small piece of black electrical tape over the LED light on the front of the remote control. When your "victim" tries to use the remote control, they will be confused by why it doesn’t work, even after they change the batteries.
11. Delicious fruit
Many pranks involve substituting veggies for candy or other sweet treats. Kids will love this prank that switches out fruit cocktail for candy. Check out this Come Together Kids blog post for the full details of this prank.
12. Surprise Bubble wrap
Kids can’t get enough bubble wrap! Place some bubble wrap under the doormat and get a laugh as kids are surprised by the popping when they step out of the door. For extra fun, put several sheets of bubble wrap under an area rug and have a dance-off, or stick some under the couch cushions for extra giggles when they sit down to watch cartoons.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in March 2020, and updated in March 2024.
