The Rules of April Fools' Day

The golden rule of pulling pranks: it's not funny unless everyone is laughing! How true it is! I’ve done my share of April Fools’ jokes in the past. I’ve had plenty of them done on me, too. Sometimes they go too far. Here are some rules not to break while pulling a prank on this day:

Nobody should get hurt

Have you ever pranked somebody with something simple and then they get really hurt? What a bummer! We all love seeing the pam-on-the-floor prank, but that can easily set up a costly hospital bill with this prank. Also, what if your grandmother, for example, comes over first?

When somebody asks if this is a joke, confess immediately!

My wife broke this rule last year. She told me her mother was coming to live with us and that she had told me multiple times. I would have remembered something like that. After about five minutes, I figured it was an April Fools’ joke. I asked her, and she continued to tell me what a horrible listener I was and that she was really coming. As a result, I was pissed off all day. Just before bed, she told me it was an April Fools’ joke, after all. I didn’t laugh.

Consider the mood of your target

If your mother is having a stressful morning, you'll get a better laugh if you wait until evening to pull your prank on her. A head full of confetti may make you the king of comedy when the mood is right, but it could lead you to the naughty chair if your mother's grouchy.

No serious lies

‘You’re fired!’, ‘We’re moving!’, ‘Mum and I are getting a divorce!’ and ‘I’ve found another lover!’ are pranks that might cause unanticipated reactions. And please don’t tell anyone that someone has died. Heaven forbid!

What goes around comes around, sometimes even worse

If you’re going to pull a prank, make sure you’re ready to receive a worse one, and you shouldn’t complain when you do. Everyone always tries to one-up the other person. Just keep your guard up. Applying a list of rules to something meant to be fun sounds like a total buzzkill, but there are plenty of hilarious pranks that fall within these parameters. Therefore, make sure you remind your jokester to keep these in mind to ensure your April Fools’ Day is full of good, clean giggling fun.