20 (Harmless!) April Fools' Pranks to Play On Your Partner
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We know you love your partner—that’s great! So happy for you. But just because you’re in love, doesn’t mean they’re exempt from an epic April Fools’ prank. And listen: We’d never tell you to trick them that badly. We don’t want to make them cry, we’re not mean. But if one of the cornerstones of a healthy relationship is laughter, then what better way to lean into that than by pulling a harmless April Fools’ prank on your boyfriend, girlfriend, theyfriend, or spouse? (Seriously, emphasis on harmless!)
Ultimately, only you know your partner well enough to know the difference between what will make them laugh and what will literally give them a heart attack. ICYMI, we’re definitely going for the former! Use your unique knowledge of what’ll crack them up (and really get them—you want them to be fooled, after all) to put together an April Fools' prank just for them. If you don’t know where to start, we’ve rounded up some of the most creative, most hilarious April Fools’ ideas below. Some are sexy, some are maybe, kind of, a little bit gross, some require supplies and others require nothing at all—besides the ability to keep a straight face, but we’ll leave that to you.
Now go forth and prank. Happy April Fools’ and may the odds be ever in your favor.
1. Pretend like you lost your engagement ring. Tell them it fell down the drain when you were washing your hands, or that you took it off in the gym bathroom and left it there by accident. Chaos ensues.
2. This won’t work unless you share your finances, but if you do…tell them you emptied your joint bank account on what you felt was a “much needed luxury vacation”—first-class roundtrip flights and all.
3. Change the settings on their phone to autocorrect whatever they call you to something else entirely. Think: Swapping out “babe” or “baby” for “bubble,” or something else that feels equally absurd. They won’t know what’s going on and you can play along by texting them back your “sincere” shock and confusion.
4. Replace all the photos of them in your house to pics of a random celeb. Photo of them and their dad fishing on the living room coffee table? Adorable. Replace it with one of Nic Cage. Your wedding/anniversary/vacation selfies? V cute—use Photoshop to replace your partner with Dwight Schrute. See how long it takes them to notice.
5. This one will need a little bit of prep work. Save your Amazon boxes for a few weeks/months/however long it takes you to accumulate at least 10-20 (we’re not judging), tape them back together, and stack them by your front door. When they get home from work, they’ll wonder what the fresh hell you spent so much money on.
6. This one probably won’t fly if you’re not a regular baker, but if you are… cover a raw egg with some melted down chocolate chips and sprinkles. Offer your partner a bite of the sweet treat and see the shock take over when they discover they just bit into a raw egg. 😇(You can do the same with tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, olives—any small, round veg goes!)
7. Change their ringtone to “Let It Go” from Frozen. Call them in public. (Or even better, when they’re with their friends.)
8. Tell them, sorry, you already finished whatever show you love marathoning together because you just couldn’t wait for them to find out what happened.
9. Put a “sold” or “for rent” sign outside your shared home, or on your/their car. Tell them the market value of your place is just too good to pass up so you made an executive decision and you’re moving next week!
10. Put something important in Jello. Think: their wine opener, their shaving cream, their hair brush—something essential that won’t get ruined in the Jello. It’s a classic for a reason!
11. Don’t do this if they have a big day the next day, obvi, but if your partner works from home, stay up a little later and wrap everything on their work station—from their laptop to their pencil holder to their coffee mug—in gift wrap or aluminum foil. Good morning!
12. If you live together, tell them that your parents’ house is being repaired, or that one of your parents got invited into a cool work or academic program in your city, so they need a place to stay for a couple of months. (Emphasis on ~months~) “They’re my parents,” you’ll say. “You love them!” 😇
13. Use a little piece of duct tape to cover your TV remote’s sensor. They’ll have no idea why they can’t scroll Netflix, you’ll sit there in silence knowing exactly how to fix the problem. 😈
14. Switch the salt and sugar containers and watch their reaction when they take their first sip of coffee in the morning. April Fools’!
15. Tell them you’re adopting a raccoon/gerbil/other random pet they are absolutely not going to be excited about cohabitating with. You absolutely couldn’t say no when you passed by the shelter and that you’re picking them up tomorrow. And that they will require extensive (and expensive) surgeries for a made-up condition you’ll think up on the spot. It’s a done deal!
16. Switch your contact on their phone with the number for their mom. Their mom will be pumped! (Get her in on it first, obvi.)
17. Put googly eyes on every single thing in their bedroom. Like, everything—including all their shoes and t-shirts. You’re gonna need googly eyes in bulk, my friend.
18. Inject mayonnaise or ketchup into some jelly donuts. Make sure they bite into it instead of tearing it into pieces. Surprise!
19. Grab a car marker and write “Honk and wave” on their car’s back bumper. Go for a drive and see how many drivers play along. They’ll wonder why everyone's in such a good mood today, you’ll sit and laugh, people on the road get a good laugh = win/win/win.
20. Tell them their favorite athlete or celebrity is retiring. Hold your phone up while you do it, pretending like you’re reading a headline. Record their reaction instead.
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