How to Pull a Prank for April Fool's Day

Setting Up a Prank

Set it up where a person is comfortable. That is, pick a place that is a part of the person's normal routine. If you try to get them to come to the prank rather than having the prank come to them, they're more likely to be suspicious, especially on April 1. For instance, set up the prank in their home or work, as they are most comfortable there. If you ask them to meet you somewhere or come outside, for example, they may become suspicious.

Try early in the morning. By mid-morning, everyone has had a chance to realize it is April 1, so they are on their guard. However, if you start early, you're more likely to catch people unawares, especially before they've had their morning coffee.

Keep it lighthearted. Fooling someone is one thing, but they should be able to laugh at the joke when it's revealed. Silly and fun works much better than serious and threatening. You don't want an April Fool's joke to cost you a relationship, a job, or even worse, land you in jail. For instance, filling a room with balloons is silly. Making someone trip when they walk in the room could be more serious, especially if it leads to injury.

Pranking Friends and Family

Try bedtime pranks. One good, easy prank is to put something under a person's pillow. Messy substances work best for this prank, such as marshmallow cream or shaving cream. When the person gets ready to go to sleep, they'll stick their hands under the pillow and find a silly surprise.

Create alarm clock fun. Alarm clocks are often used to prank people because you can set them to go off at a later time. One way to use alarm clocks is to gather a bunch of them and hide them around someone's room. Set them to go off at different times during the night. Another option that takes more commitment is to make someone early for something. For instance, if your spouse gets up before dawn to go to work, you can set all the clocks and smartphones in the house to several hours earlier. When your spouse gets up at his or her "normal" time, it will actually be hours earlier.

Fake destroying important documents. Secretly make a copy of documents important to a friend or coworker. Hide the original away. In front of the person, "accidentally" spill coffee on it. This prank works especially well if it's something that's not easily reproduced, such as a birth certificate, car title, or something that was notarized. It also works well to play it on a friend who doesn't have easy access to a printer and who has printed off a paper for class already.

Cover a car in sticky notes. This prank takes some time and commitment, but the shock value is worth it. Simply buy a bunch of sticky notes, and cover the entire car with them. The driver will have to remove them before he or she can leave. It's maybe best not to play this prank when it will make someone late to work, school, or another commitment. It can take a while to remove all of the sticky notes, so allow ample time.

Pranking at the Office

Wrap a phone in rubber bands. This prank is a good one for the office. Simply use rubber bands large enough to wrap around the person's office phone, then completely wrap the phone in rubber bands. When they go to use the phone, they'll have to unwrap it first. Remember that you're taking a chance anytime you pull a prank at the office. You're cutting down on productivity, and your boss may not be okay with that. Make sure you are willing to accept the consequences before you pull an office prank.

Grow a garden in a keyboard. One way to prank coworkers is to grow gardens in keyboards and switch them out for the working keyboards. When your coworkers come in, you'll definitely get a laugh. Start with an old, broken keyboard. Add water, soil, and chia or grass seeds. Enclose it in a clear plastic bag (loosely) to create a greenhouse, and set it in a sunny spot. Check on the soil every day to make sure it stays moist. Let it grow for about a week. Set the garden keyboard on the desk, and hide the person's regular keyboard. It is NOT a good idea to do this prank on a working office keyboard. That is destruction of company property, and you could easily be fired for that. Even if you're not using company property, consider your office atmosphere and the temperament of your boss before pulling this prank.

Make mayo donuts. Buy a box of glazed donuts. On top of them, spread or pipe mayonnaise to look like frosting. Your unsuspecting coworkers will get a mouthful of mayonnaise when they're expecting sweet frosting. This prank could backfire if someone has a food allergy or is vegan or vegetarian. Just be sure you take that into consideration before attempting it.

"Freeze" their computers. One way to prank coworkers is to take a screenshot of their computer screens. Then, you replace their background with that screenshot. Once you hide the icons, it will look like their regular screen, but they won't be able to click on anything. Start by hitting "Print Screen" on their keyboard. Paste it into a program like Paint. Save it as an image. Next, replace the background image with your image. You can usually do this step by right-clicking on the screen and hitting "personalize" or "preferences" on the menu. Hide the icons. The easiest way to hide the icons is to right-click on the desktop, then move to "View." Next, uncheck the box for "Show Desktop Icons." Check this box again when you want them to reappear. Once again, this prank will cut down on productivity, so make sure you're okay with the consequences if your boss isn't happy.

Knowing What to Avoid

Don't use a prank to isolate and humiliate someone. In some settings, such as the office, pranks are often played on either the top performer or the under performer. In other words, the prank is often played on someone that others would like to see humbled a bit. In that case, the prank can go pretty wrong, considering that the person you're pranking could end up feeling victimized, leading to poor office morale or even consequences for you. Also, it's never a good idea to prank the boss, unless she or he has created an atmosphere where everyone gets pranked now and then. Stick to people who can take the joke or even unilaterally play it on everyone. Another option is just sticking to friends and loved ones, who know you care about them.

Skip the scare tactics. Simply jumping out at someone may not be so bad, but pulling elaborate pranks that fake someone's death are much less appropriate. For instance, if your girlfriend faked her death, how would that make you feel? Most people are left feeling hurt and vulnerable even after the prank has been revealed, so it's a good idea to skip these types of pranks.

Avoid "good news" pranks. That is, don't tell someone they've won a car, for example. It gets their hopes up, and then you just have to dash them later. This type of prank can turn cruel very quickly. This step is even more true when it's more personal. For instance, telling someone their song is going to be played on the radio can raise false hopes that will leave the person feeling very disappointed.

Don't do anything dangerous. Hitting someone in the face with a cream pie isn't dangerous. Digging a hole for someone to fall in is dangerous. You don't want to cause harm to another person, especially since you could be liable for any hospital bills or even face criminal charges.

Skip anything illegal. It can be easy to tip into illegal activities when pulling a prank. Moving someone's car, permanently damaging property, or even tripping someone could all be construed as illegal if things go wrong. Think about the possible consequences of your prank before you pull it off.