Easy April Fool's Day pranks to play on your family

April Fool’s Day may come around the same time every year, yet it still manages to catch some people out who don’t have their wits about them. It’s tradition for friends, families and colleagues to play playful pranks on each other until midday on April 1.

Those who take the annual tradition very seriously may have been planning their prank for months. But sometimes the simplest jokes are the best and have maximum impact on your unsuspecting victim, the Mirror reports.

We’ve rounded up some of the easiest prank ideas you can play on your family at home this April Fool’s Day. They’re simple to do and perfect for pulling off at the last minute.

If you’ve got time before your victim eats breakfast, fill a bowl with cereal and milk, half-submerge a spoon - and then put it in the freezer.

Serve it up to your victim when it’s frozen and watch as they struggle to work out why they can't budge the spoon or eat their breakfast...

2. Swapped cereal

This one is quick and easy: simply swap over two (or more) bags of cereal before your family gets up in the morning.

To go one step further 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

Pranks can be done remotely, too, so you can still have some fun even if you can't see your friends and family in person this April Fool's Day.

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

Get craft and 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

Wipe some food colouring 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

If you’re tech savvy and good with photo editing, this prank is one to do.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

Move the clocks forward an hour (Shared Content Unit)

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.

9. Glass half full

This one is a bit tricky but worth the reactions. 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.

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