Halloween pranks make all the work and stress of this time of year so worth it. I mean, with all the work we put into finding (or making) the perfect costumes for our kids and then taking them trick or treating, we deserve a little fun, too. And what’s more fun than a funny practical joke? If you’re with me, keep reading for absolutely hilarious Halloween pranks to pull on your kids this year.
1. Put your head in a jar. Since kids like to hang out in the fridge most of the day anyway, think about putting your head in a jar with this optical illusion trick and putting it where all the food is to scare them off. Maybe if you’re lucky you’ll have to fix fewer snacks this way, too.
2. Hide glowing eyes outside their bedroom window. Take an old toilet paper roll, cut out creepy eyes, and then stick a glow stick in the middle. Then, hide those creepy eyes in the bushes. This super easy prank is perfect for older kids that will roll their eyes and go to sleep anyway. You could also put them under a bed, or in a closet for fun.
3. Invest in a skeleton. There is nothing as fun as a skeleton you can move around and prank your kids with. Invest in a skeleton you can put in the driver’s seat of your teen’s car, or in the bed of your toddler. It can always double as décor for the rocking chair on your front porch, too.
4. Make a bowl of worms they can eat. Since kids are notorious for eating gross things anyway, serve up a bowl of worms made out of Jell-O for a special treat. Fill bendy straws in a jar with Jell-O mix and let them set over night to make your very own edible worms.
5. Give them a red Kool-Aid shower. If you’re OK with a little extra clean up, add a packet of red Kool-Aid to your shower head before your older kids get in for a shower. They’ll be surprised when the water comes out red for a funny, “bloody” bath.
6. Hide creepy crawlies in their beds. If you’re looking for a super simple prank, there isn’t one better than buying fake cockroaches or spiders and hiding them in unsuspected places. The bed is my personal favorite, but you could freeze spiders in ice trays to serve them up in a drink, or hide them in the bathtub before the bedtime routine. The sky is the limit with this one.
7. Make a vampire drink. Kids love vampires, and nothing is as fun as seeing Mom with her own set of vampire fangs. Take it up a notch by making a fun, bloody drink with liquid Kool-Aid, sprite, and a floating pair of vampire fangs.
8. Leave bloody handprints on windows. This funny idea is perfect for moms to trick their kids, but my guess is that kids will want to get in on this fun, too. The best part is you can leave these bloody handprints made out of glue and food coloring on shower doors, or mirrors, too.
9. Trap them with spider webs. This idea is super easy and cheap, and a fun way to surprise your kids anytime during the Halloween season. Take fake spider webs and block the doorway to your kid’s bedroom with it while they’re sleeping. It will be fun watching them try to get out. Another idea is to cross crepe paper back and forth across the hallway and make a spider maze they need to get through in the morning when they wake up.
10. Make some Halloween tape ghosts. Kids will love getting in on the pranks with these Halloween tape ghosts. If you want to scare your kids though, make one and hide it outside in the yard and reveal your ghost when it starts to get dark. It might also be fun to hide it in the hallway or in the bathroom for groggy kids in the morning.
And, if all else fails, there is always the Jimmy Kimmel inspired “we ate all your candy” trick. After all, we know that parents are secretly sneaking those Reese’s peanut butter cups at night anyway. Just make sure if you pull this prank, that you get it on film, because, that’s how memories truly last a lifetime.
