I’ve seen some good April Fool’s pranks in my day, but the best one ever pulled on me was one by a dear friend and coworker. It was the perfect blend of believable, shocking, and puzzling. The team and I were fooled for quite a few hours, until someone remembered that this teammate had a tradition with her family of April Fool’s pranks and suggested that we might be participating in a prank of our own. Figuring that out was a big part of the fun! We still laugh about that prank years later (although we all have the date marked on our calendar so we can be on alert 😉
The plus side of April Fool’s Day is that it’s excuse to have fun. We shouldn’t need an excuse, but it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day living that we forget to have fun. Silly, huh? Well, not as silly as April Fool’s Day.
While I’ve seen some good pranks, I’ve also seen some not so good pranks. There are some pranks that are funny in one’s eyes, but mean or offensive to others. You need to think a bit to make sure that you’re joke will be funny and tasteful.
To help you pull the perfect prank, I’ve reached out to that friend and teammate that pulled the perfect prank on our team, Janelle London (check out her blog ecodecade.org), and asked her to share the secret formula for a good April Fool’s Prank:
The plus side of April Fool’s Day is that it’s excuse to have fun. We shouldn’t need an excuse, but it’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day living that we forget to have fun. Silly, huh? Well, not as silly as April Fool’s Day.
While I’ve seen some good pranks, I’ve also seen some not so good pranks. There are some pranks that are funny in one’s eyes, but mean or offensive to others. You need to think a bit to make sure that you’re joke will be funny and tasteful.
To help you pull the perfect prank, I’ve reached out to that friend and teammate that pulled the perfect prank on our team, Janelle London (check out her blog ecodecade.org), and asked her to share the secret formula for a good April Fool’s Prank:
- One part believable — if it’s too out there, people will know right away. You need something that makes ‘em go hmmm….
- One part shocking, but not dangerously so – don’t pick something that could actually trigger a heart attack or uncontrollable sobbing. Of course the prank should evoke a response, but not a devastating one. Sounds obvious, but often overlooked.
- One part delivery—this is key. You need to be able to deliver it as serious as the evening news.
So go ahead, think of a way to bring fun into the office with a good-spirited April Fool’s Day joke.
Have a prank or joke that you think is a winner? Tell us about it for your chance to win a prize! Email us your idea at gotcha@parentswithcareers.com!
And remember what day it is before you invest time and energy into sending that email…. 😉