Do you celebrate April Fools Day with your kids? It can seem frivolous or even inappropriate to celebrate a joke day when it is another dark time in our world. And yet, when we choose to live, to laugh, to enjoy life, it’s a way to fight the dark. When we allow laughter to continue, we are choosing not to let the darkness win. And this is important, not to let it take hold of us or drag us down. So let’s take this opportunity to laugh with our kids. Let’s look at a few fun ideas for April Fool’s Day.
Some families have a tradition of playing a bunch of tricks on their kids on April Fools Day. I have a friend who makes trick food, sets up silly traps, and has a blast pranking her kids on April Fools Day. Some families don’t like pranking each other, and that’s perfectly fine. None of us wants to treat our kids with unkindness on April Fool’s Day. Let’s think of ways to have fun instead.
A few fun ideas for you
Here are a few fun ideas for April Fools Day. We’re going for things that are simple and harmless. Let’s help our kids laugh and enjoy the day!
Here’s a really easy one. Put googly eyes on several items in your home. Big googly eyes on the cereal box, googly eyes on refrigerated bottles and containers, googly eyes on the toothpaste, googly eyes on the light switches…you get the idea.
Get a sharpie marker, and write a joke or message on the toilet paper, or even draw a fun or silly series of pictures for kids who don’t read yet. Then roll it back up and put it back. Your kids can enjoy your silly messages with this bathroom surprise.
Here’s a fun idea for April Fool’s Day. Use wide tape or painter’s tape to hold some strips of kitchen plastic wrap or the big moving wrap across your kid’s doorway. Then place a bunch of balloons in between the barrier and the door. When they open the door in the morning, the balloons will fall over them. This will bring some laughs for sure!
This one takes a little more planning. Make some trick food. For example, make cupcakes, but use meatloaf for the cake and mashed potatoes for the frosting. Or chill some jello in your child’s favorite juice glass, and let them have a silly surprise when the juice won’t move. Here’s an easy idea that won’t take much prep. Mix together different kinds of candies that look similar, like Skittles, Reeses Pieces, and M&Ms. It will look like a nice bowl of candy, but then there will be all these different flavors that would be really weird together.
These are just a few fun ideas for April Fool’s Day.
Signs for April Fool’s Day
While you’re enjoying some fun activities, you can also learn and use some new signs. It’s a great time to try out the signs for fun, surprise, laugh, happy, or silly. You can find instructions for these signs and a bunch more in our free Signing Time Dictionary.
And if you want to get even more into signing with your kids, check out My Signing Time. We have lots of fun, educational shows with signing and so much more. Try it out with a 14-day free trial right here.
Do you have any fun ideas for April Fool’s Day?