April Fool’s Day is celebrated by many on April 1st each year, but it’s not a national holiday. Though its origins date back to the 1500’s, the games, tricks and jokes have continued to this day. April Fool’s Day brings smiles to children and adults alike, most of the time. As a parent, there is nothing I like more than hearing my children giggle as they play, and seeing smiles on their adorable faces.

Just like anyone else, I’m sure that you have played a little April Fool’s joke on friends or family that turns out to be hilarious. Unfortunately, our smaller, more tender-hearted little people may not be so tolerant of such jokes. Be sure to keep your child’s feelings in mind before planning an elaborate scheme that could end in many tears and hurt feelings. Take a look at the ideas below that are great little April Fool’s tricks, but are sure to have a good outcome as well.

1. Would you like a Brown – E?

Gather some brown sheets of construction paper and cut out ten or twelve letter E’s. Then, place all of the E’s in a cake pan. When your child comes into the room for a snack, ask, “would you like a brown E?” After they excitedly answer, grab the cake pan and extend it so they can see what is inside. Be sure to have real brownies tucked out of sight so they can enjoy a delicious treat when the fooling is done. Not only is this a fun little trick, but it can also be a great way to help with letter recognition for those pre-school aged children.

2. Grapes Wrapped Like Chocolate

Collect the foils from your Easter candy. Purchase a bag of grapes. Green grapes often work better as they are about the same size and shape as little foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. Unwrap the chocolates and replace them with grapes. When your children ask for a sweet treat, break out the foil wrapped grapes. They will be surprised when they find grapes inside and it’s a healthier alternative too! You can find some other foodie tricks by visiting this blog.

3. Things That Don’t Belong

It can be really fun to wait until the kids go to bed and then you can rearrange some things to throw them off. Replace a picture hanging on the wall with a shoe. Fill the cereal box up with legos. Replace their toothbrushes with paint brushes. I’m sure there are other items you can exchange that would be funny. You can tell them how many things are mixed up in the house and have them go search for all the mismatched items.

4. Kitchen Utensil Change Up

When I was a camp counselor during my summers off through college, I loved playing pranks on other counselors and their kids. One of my all time favorite tricks was when we would sneak into the dining hall and replace their utensils with large kitchen tools. For example, we would replace their spoons with large ladles, forks with spatulas, and so on. The rule of this game is that you must eat with the utensils you’ve been given. Imagine the laughter that will come from that meal. How fun!

By Gabrielle Fisher

What are your child’s favourite April Fool’s tricks? 🙂