Why should kids have all the fun? Adults need some harmless fun in their lives, too. So, don't let them fool you — kids haven't cornered the market on practical jokes! And with these iconic grown-up pranks to play on your friends, you can join in on that mischievous fun.
Harmless Food-Related Pranks to Gross Out Your Friends
Everyone's spent a few hours figuring out how to prank someone they love. An easy place to mine ideas is your pantry. Everybody has to eat, and there's no better place to pull a practical prank on your friend than at the dinner table.
Food With Eyes Prank
When it comes to adult pranks, you can't go wrong with googly eyes. Get several sets of googly eyes and add them to different things on the shelves in your refrigerator. When anyone opens up the fridge, they'll get a little fright. You can make it even more fun by adding eyes to jars that already look like they have a face on them.
Salted Cookies
Make a batch of homemade cookies and give them that sugar-sprinkled look with some salt. Package the cookies up in attractive tins or arrange them on a plate. Leave the plate on the break room table or bring it to a friend's house for dinner. Don't forget to capture people's faces when they take a bite!
Whenever you play a prank involving food, make sure you know what everyone's allergies are, if any. You don't want a funny practical joke to end in a trip to the hospital.
Lemon Juice
Squeeze a bit of lemon juice in someone's water when they're not looking. You could also add a small amount of vinegar or salt. Make sure you stay close by for this one because their sour-faced reaction is something you won't want to miss.
Frozen Cereal
The night before you plan to do this prank, pour some cereal and milk into a bowl. Then place the bowl in the freezer overnight. The next morning, offer to make breakfast and place the frozen cereal and a spoon in front of your "victim." Watch and enjoy as they try to take a bite during this funny prank. Since it involves perfect timing, this one would make a great April Fools prank for your parents.
Mayonnaise & Vanilla Pudding Switch-Up
Shock your friends with this stomach-churning mayonnaise prank. Grab an empty mayonnaise jar (or seriously scrub a new one) and fill it with fresh vanilla pudding. Break it out when friends are over or take it to snack on at your lunch break. Don't forget to offer to share!
Safe Household Tricks to Try on Your Roommates
Pranks to do on friends go beyond just food. You can do things around the house, too. These pranks are perfect to play on your roommates and/or family members.
Gooey Phone
Put something gooey on the ear or mouthpiece of the phone, such as toothpaste or peanut butter. Don't use gum, as this can get caught in the victim's hair and is a hassle to get rid of. Also, make sure the person isn't allergic to whatever you put on the phone. Then give the person a call and watch their reaction when they answer.
Shoes Got Smaller
Stuff a clean sock or napkin in the toes of the "victim's" shoes. If you're feeling mischievous, take a moment to perform this trick on every pair of shoes the person owns.
Balloons in the Bedroom
Fill the "victims" bedroom with balloons (helium-filled are the best if you want a big impact). This is a perfect trick for younger teens and friends of the family who you want to prank, but don't want to upset too much.
Bombs Away
While the "victim" is asleep, tape a piece of newspaper from the top of the door frame to the wall over the door. Place foam peanuts, popcorn, or small balls of paper over the top of the newspaper above the door. When the person wakes up and walks out the door, they will be showered with these lightweight objects floating down on their head as the newspaper rips.
Hand Sanitizer Trick
Grab a small bottle of hand sanitizer and clear glue. Empty the hand sanitizer out of the container (keep the hand sanitizer in another container so you don't waste it). Rinse out the hand sanitizer bottle and allow it to dry completely. Replace it with clear glue. Allow it to dry at an angle overnight. Leave the hand sanitizer for your unsuspecting victim. They will squeeze and squeeze, but nothing will come out.
A gel-based clear glue works best. Make sure you don't use glue containing cyanoacrylate (found in Krazy Glue and Super Glue), or another glue product that might be unsafe. A non-toxic, non-hazardous glue that cleans up with water is best. Make sure it dries completely in the hand sanitizer container because you don't want your target to actually get glue on their hands.
Spider Attack
Attach several small fake spiders to a thin string and tape the string just above the door jamb, quickly shutting the door. Fit the spiders into the small space between the top of the door and the door jamb. When your victim opens the door, the spiders will fall down and likely scare the living daylights out of them.
Not-So Squeaky Clean
Grab a bottle of clear nail polish and paint it over your victim's bar of soap. Let the layer completely dry, then pop it back into the shower like normal. The nail polish makes it unable to lather, and your housemates will be feeling not-so-squeaky clean thanks to your sudsless prank.
Safe Front Lawn Pranks Your Friends Won't Forget
Need some good ol' prank ideas? If you're sneaky, you can make a big impact by pranking a friend's front lawn in the middle of the night or while they're at work with these playful ideas.
Heart Attacks
Make little paper hearts and glue them on Popsicle sticks. Poke hundreds of them in the victim's front yard for a great Valentine's Day prank or just to show your love.
Forking a Front Yard
Stake hundreds of plastic forks in their front yard. The good news with this one is that it's a win-win for everyone involved! Not only will it give you a chuckle, but it's also good for the yard since it aerates the ground.
Spotlight
Put your loved ones in the spotlight by pointing dozens of motion-activated lawn lamps at their front door. This works best for people you know who have to leave for work in the early hours of the morning.
More Practical Prank Ideas to Play on Your Friends
Whether you're playing a trick on your college roommate or pranking a co-worker, you'll want to save these riotous practical jokes for the perfect victim.
Bloody Footprints
Got a true crime-loving bestie? This is the perfect prank to play on them. Several different companies make water-activated shower mats that look like blood splatter when water comes into contact with them. Give your roommates the scare of a lifetime by swapping out the bathmats before their next shower and creating a little chaos.
Turn Up the Heat
Does your friend or family member live behind the wheel of their car? If so, you can have a lot of fun performing harmless car pranks. But this simple one is our favorite. Next time you ride shotgun in your friend's car, point something interesting out on their side of the street. When they turn their head, click their heated seats on. The slow burn on this one is well worth waiting for.
Air Mattress Revenge
Get into a little adult fun on your next camping trip with this sleep-disrupting prank. When everyone lays down for the night, undo the plug on your victim's air mattress. It'll slowly deflate overnight, so they won't have reason to suspect you of the shenanigans.
A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words
If you have a doorway, some packaging tape, and clingwrap on hand, you can put this prank together in minutes. On the inside of a doorframe, measure to about your victim's face height and tear out a strip of clingwrap that stretches the entire width of the doorway.
From there, pull it as tight as possible against the frame (you want it to look like there's nothing there), and tape it in place. When you're ready, close the door from the inside and call out to your friend or partner to come there for a second. They won't know what hit 'em!
Besties Stick by Your Side Through Thick, Thin & Pranks
You might not get to choose your family, but you do get to choose your friends. They'll stick by you through thick and thin — and a few pranks, too! After you're finished pulling these practical jokes, it's time to turn your mischievous eye elsewhere with these pranks your siblings will never expect.
