I won’t lie, April Fools’ Day is one of my favorite days of the year! It has become an annual tradition for me to pull a prank on my husband and kids. Luckily, my kids love to be goofy and my husband is a good sport about it. Hey, traditions are important for every family, right? 🙂 April Fools’ Day is this week, so you still have time to trick the people you love most—your kids!

Here are my favorite family-friendly pranks! Catch your little ones by surprise with one (or more!) of these fun ideas:

Serve raw octopus for dinner for major ick factor!

Make Brown-Es for dessert. This one made my alphabet-loving little boy laugh hysterically. I told my kids they could have brownies for dessert that night. After dinner I brought the brownie pan to the table and served each person a brown E that I had printed out. After their initial shock came the laughter. Then I pulled out a real pan of brownies and we had our evening treat!

Serve dinner on tiny toy dishes, including plates, forks, teacups, etc. Even funnier, serve toy food too! Act like they’re crazy if they protest eating a plate-ful of plastic chicken and vegetables.

Make an ice cream sundae with mashed potatoes, gravy or ketchup topping, sour cream, and a roasted red pepper on top! (This is definitely one I’ll be doing this year!)

Glitter-bomb! Some websites even guarantee delivery on April 1! Don’t ask how I know this.

Stick a giant plastic cockroach in their lunchbox (with a little note that says April Fool’s of course!)

Put a helium balloon in the toilet and close the lid. A surprise will pop out the next time they need to use the potty!

Fill their shoes with perler beads, popcorn kernels, or confetti

Put a fake furry tarantula in their backpack or pencil-box

Wrap grapes inside colorful foil and tell them it’s leftover Easter candy

Fill the bathtub with plastic Easter eggs and tell them it’s time to take a bath

Why not start your own family tradition this April Fools’ Day? Your kids will especially love it, because for once, YOU are encouraging silly and goofy behavior! Just don’t be surprised if they turn the tables on you next year!