10 Awesome April Fool's Day Pranks for the Family

Right or wrong, I love April Fools’ Day. My kids and I started plotting our pranks weeks ago. Sadly, my husband doesn’t join in until the last moment and takes the brunt of most of the jokes. Here are 10 awesome April Fools’ day pranks that the whole family can get in on:

1. Barbie goes to work. My daughter has a zillion Barbie dolls and we thought they may enjoy a day at the office. We loaded up my husband’s car with them (in the windshield, out the back window and buckled in on the passenger side). Daddy felt like a stud!
2. Mess with breakfast (or lunch or dinner). Put gummy worms in their scrambled eggs, green food coloring in their milk or switch out cereal boxes. Franklin mom Kellie Carrara told her daughter they were having fish for dinner. “She HATES fish. I served her a plate of multi-colored big and little SWEEDISH Fish and told her she had to clean her entire plate!”
3. Toilet messaging. Write a message on a few sheets of toilet paper with permanent marker and place it in the toilet bowl. Some message ideas: Who goes there? The joke’s on poo!
4. Problems with the pipes. Hopkinton mom Julie Capello used colored bath tablets to trick her kids. “We put them in the bathroom and kitchen sink pipes and tricked the family!” It’s easy to do: Unscrew the rim of the bathroom faucet and place an Easter Egg Dying tablet in there.
5. Mom and/or Dad have lost their minds. When the kids were young I came downstairs dressed in my husband’s work shirt and tie. He came down wearing make-up. The kids were completely confused and equally delighted.
6. The shoe doesn’t fit. Bunch up toilet paper and stuff it in the toe of the victim's shoes. They'll wonder why their shoes suddenly don't fit.
7. This one is for kids only! Hopedale mom Kelli St. Germain got totally snubbed by her son! “On the way home from school my son informed me that he had a note from the teacher because of his behavior and grades and she would like us to schedule a conference,” she remembers. “He had this serious look on his face. I opened the envelope and there was a blank piece of paper.”
8. Try the classic clock trick. Switch the clock and make the kids (or parents) think they are late.
9. Surprise door. Blow up some balloons and place them over the top of a door with the door slightly closed. Your little one will walk in and release a colorful balloon surprise.
10. Hit the sock drawer. Use large safety pins to string together several pairs of socks. When your son or daughter goes to retrieve their socks they’ll get more than they bargained for.