Best April Fool's Day pranks and jokes to play at home - The Mirror

April Fool's Day is the perfect time for some harmless fun, so here are some funny ideas for pranks and jokes to play on your family at home this year

You'd better have your wits about you on Saturday as it's April Fool's Day - which means it's time for some harmless fun.

An annual tradition for decades now, families, friends and co-workers can play harmless tricks on each other up until midday.

Some people may have been planning their April Fool's jokes for the entire year, but sometimes the best pranks are the simplest.

Here are ten easy ideas for pranks you can play on your family at home:

1. Frozen breakfast

The night before April Fool's Day, fill a bowl with cereal and milk, half-submerge a spoon - and then put it in the freezer.

Serve it up to your victim in the morning, and watch as they struggle to work out why they can't budge the spoon or eat their breakfast...

2. Swapped cereal

For a quick and easy breakfast prank, simply swap over two (or more) bags of cereal before your family gets up in the morning.

You could also replace your victim's favourite cereal with rice or pasta to really confuse them when they pour themselves a bowl.

3. Text a typing dots gif

Even if you can't see your friends and family in person this April Fool's Day, you can still prank them remotely.

Start up a friendly text conversation with one of your friends, then halfway through send them a gif of the typing dots. They'll be waiting for a text that will never arrive...

4. Spider silhouettes

Cut out spider shapes from black paper, and put them inside a lampshade. When the light gets turned on, it will look like there's a huge spider waiting to pounce.

If you're feeling artistic, you could also cut out huge cockroaches or scorpion shapes to really terrify your family.

5. Colourful water

If you've got food colouring lying around, wipe some on the underside of your kitchen or bathroom tap spout, right where the water comes out.

This will dye the water as it flows out of the tap, giving your unsuspecting victim a big shock!

6. Swap beds

If you've got young kids who are heavy sleepers, pick them up and move them into a different bed after they've dozed off.

They'll be very confused when they wake up on April Fool's Day morning.

7. Fake tattoo

This is a good prank if you're tech savvy, and good with photo editing. Text a family member and tell them you've had a tattoo done in their honour.

Edit a picture of yourself so it looks like you've got a large tattoo of their name somewhere conspicuous - like your face, neck or forearm - but make sure there's a spelling error or mistake in the 'tattoo'.

They won't know how to tell you you've made such a permanent mistake!

8. Change the clocks

Change all the clocks in your house - including your family's devices - moving them forward one hour.

When everyone wakes up, they'll be convinced they've overslept and are late for work or school.

9. Glass half full

Lay breakfast out for your family in the morning - but with everybody's drinks upside down.

To do this, fill a glass with water and then put a card over the top. Put the glass face down on the table, and then very quickly pull out the card.

The water will be trapped inside the glass - and there'll be no way to pick it up without spilling it everywhere.

Only attempt this one if you don't mind mopping!

10. Cracked screen

If you have a family member or housemate working from home at the moment, download a picture of a cracked screen and set it as the screensaver on their laptop.

Make sure you alter the settings so the screensaver activates after a very short period of time - like 30 seconds.

When they get up to use the toilet or make a cup of tea, they'll come back to see their screen apparently shattered.