Though we all love a good laugh year-round, April Fools’ Day offers some great opportunities to crank up the pranks.
Why do we even celebrate April Fools’ Day?
Even though the Julian calendar, which we use, was adopted in 46 B.C., many Europeans were resistant to the change — really resistant, as it turns out. For centuries, their New Year coincided with Easter and other Spring celebrations. In the 1560s, France’s King Charles IX finally decreed that the New Year should officially begin on January 1, and Pope Gregory in Rome followed a full 18 years later. It is said that the Europeans who hadn’t gotten the memo on the date change continued to celebrate New Year’s in April, thus they were considered fools, and the source of our modern day pranks.
In France, the fools got paper fish hooked to their backs. These are vintage “Poisson d’Avril” (April Fish) postcards:
Other theories hold that April Fools’ Day arose from the Spring renewal festivals that have long been held throughout the world. These have wonderful names and customs – Hilaria in Rome; Holi, the festival of color in India; Hock-Tyed, a randy event in Great Britain.
The Museum of Hoaxes site has more information about April Fools’ Day in history and literature. The infoplease site casts some doubt on the calendar theory and posits another, from Boston University History Professor Joseph Boskin, who explained that a group of court jesters told the Roman emperor Constantine that they could do a better job of running the empire, so he let a jester named Kugel be king for one day. “It was a very serious day,” Boskin said, and his story was run by the news media in 1983.
There was one glitch: Boskin himself had made the story up — in great April Fools’ Day tradition.
Fun and Easy Food Pranks
So, what are some fun and easy April Fools’ Day pranks that you can pull on your family? I’ve often used mealtimes to turn the tables and have some fun with food pranks, many of which will be a treat to eat even after the joke’s over. All of these are quick and easy to pull off, with ingredients available at most grocery stores.
Fishy Fish Sticks
What you’ll need:
Log-shaped candy bars such as Twix, Mounds, or Kit Kat
Shredded coconut or toasted coconut (available at specialty stores)
Corn Syrup
How to do it:
Toast the coconut by placing the shredded pieces on a baking sheet and baking at 350 degrees for 2-4 minutes, or until it is light brown with some white shreds remaining (if you are not using toasted coconut). Allow the coconut to cool and then spread it atop a sheet of wax paper. Roll the candy in the corn syrup until it is lightly coated, and then roll the coated candy in the coconut. (Note that some candy bars may have to be cut to more closely resemble the shape of a fish stick.)
Sweet Potatoes
What you’ll need:
Vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt
Butterscotch or caramel sauce
How to do it:
Place a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt on a plate. Top with butterscotch or caramel sauce. Let the sauce drip down to resemble gravy.
Different Dog
What you’ll need:
A banana
A hot dog bun
Peanut butter
Vanilla yogurt
Red and yellow food coloring
How to do it:
Place the banana into the hot dog bun. Mix drops of red food coloring into a couple of spoonfuls of peanut butter until the color of the peanut butter resembles ketchup. Mix drops of yellow food coloring into a couple of spoonfuls of yogurt until the color of the yogurt resembles mustard. Generously spread the “condiments” over the banana to make the hot dog.
Not So Fried Egg
What you’ll need:
Lemon or vanilla pudding or yogurt, or a canned peach half
Marshmallow sauce (used for sundaes)
Piece of toast (optional)
How to do it:
Spoon a generous amount of marshmallow sauce on a plate or a piece of toast. It will spread. Finesse it with a spoon into an egg-white shape. Place a small, neat spoonful of pudding or yogurt, or the canned peach half on top of it so that the whole resembles a fried egg.
Smile and Say “Grilled Cheese”
What you’ll need:
A pound cake
Buttercream or white frosting
Red and yellow food coloring
How to do it:
Cut the pound cake into slices to resemble bread. Toast them in an oven (on a cookie sheet) or in a toaster oven just until they turn golden brown. Once they’ve cooled a little, stack two slices for each sandwich and cut each stack in half diagonally. Mix drops of the red and yellow food coloring into the frosting, stopping when the frosting appears like American cheese. Carefully spread a generous amount of frosting onto the bottom slice, then gently press the top slice over it. This will make the frosting ooze a bit over the sides of the “bread”, so that the whole resembles a melted cheese sandwich.
A Stiff Drink
What you’ll need:
A package of flavored gelatin.
How to do it:
Dissolve the gelatin according to box directions. Pour the gelatin into drinking glasses and place a plastic straw in each. Refrigerate the gelatin until firm, then watch when someone tries to drink their “drink”.
A Meaty Dessert
What you’ll need:
A meatloaf recipe
Mashed potatoes
Cake decorators’ icing
How to do it:
Combine the ingredients for the meatloaf recipe. Before baking, divide the mixture into the two round cake pans and pat it flat. Bake as usual, shortening the cooking time to adjust for the thinness of the meat loaves. Prepare the mashed potatoes, adding a little extra milk to them and whipping them until they are fluffy. Once the loaves have cooled a little, place one of them onto a plate and cover it with a thin layer of mashed potatoes. Place the other meatloaf on top of the potato layer, and finish frosting the “cake” with the remaining potatoes, swirling them with a knife to imitate cake frosting. Decorate the top with a fun April Fools’ message.
Fairy Burgers for Tiny Pranksters
What you’ll need:
A box of Nilla wafers
A bag of small peppermint patties such as York
Shredded coconut
Green food coloring
Red or yellow “Fruit by the Foot”
Sesame seeds (optional)
Corn syrup (optional)
Toothpicks (optional)
How to do it:
Dissolve a drop of green food coloring into a cup of water. Place about a quarter cup of shredded coconut into a mixing bowl and pour the food coloring over it. Mix the coconut to coat it with color and then let it sit a few minutes to make sure the color is absorbed. Pat dry with a paper towel. That is the lettuce for your burger. Roll out the “Fruit by the Foot” and cut small squares of red or yellow to represent tomato slices and cheese. If you wish your Nilla wafer “bun” to have sesame seeds on it, place the desired number of wafers on a flat surface. Dip a toothpick into the corn syrup and dot the wafer with drops of the syrup. Carefully place a sesame seed on each syrup drop and let it sit for a couple of minutes to dry.
Assemble the “burger” by starting with a wafer for the bottom and then adding a peppermint patty, the fruit square(s), the coconut, and, finally, the top bun. Nibble with tiny bites, just like the fairies do.
Backwards Meal
Even if you don’t have time to make or buy special food, you can serve a meal backward, starting with dessert. Or you can have a whole backwards day where meals are concerned. Even a few drops of food coloring can instantly change a bowl or oatmeal or a scoop of mashed potatoes.
Have fun and get silly! Happy April Fools’ Day.
