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April Fools’ Day

April Fools’ Day, celebrated each year on 1 April, is a day for playing harmless practical jokes and hoaxes on people and revealing the prank by shouting ‘April Fool!’ at them. But, take care: this has to be done before 12 noon or the practical joker becomes the ‘April Fool’ themselves.

A group of people wearing dotty clothes and drinking tea sat at a table with a variety of cakes on it.

It is really important to remember that jokes and pranks are meant to be harmless and should never make anyone feel bad.

Interesting facts about April Fools’ Day:

  • The origins of this custom are uncertain and there are many theories about how and when it started, including:
    • References in literature are from around 1392, and French poetry in 1508.
    • When the New Year changed to 1 January.
    • In the Bible story, when Noah sent the first bird to find land.
    • A Dutch battle in 1572.
  • Since 2011 Mojang, the maker of the game Minecraft, has issued an April Fools snapshot for its Minecraft: Java Edition game on PC.
  • It is a custom practised in many different countries including Germany, the UK, Canada, Iran, Lebanon, France and Italy to name just a few.

Activities for children with vision impairment: Family activities

Celebrate the spirit of April Fools’ Day with some of these fun, accessible activities.

Play a prank

Fun pranks might involve:

  • Making funny faces on fruit by sticking on googly eyes (take care to remove these before eating!)
  • Swapping the toothpaste for a tube of white icing.
  • Swapping the cream filling from a biscuit or cake with something not so sweet - like mayonnaise or toothpaste.
  • Putting your clothes on the wrong way around. Try wearing your pants over your trousers and see how long it takes your family to notice!

Bake edible poo biscuits

You will need a strong stomach and a straight face when offering these edible poo-shaped biscuits to your friends and family!

What you will need:

  • 64g butter, softened
  • 85g cream cheese, softened
  • 1 egg
  • 1 packet of chocolate cake mix
  • Icing sugar and water

How to make poo-shaped biscuits:

  • Preheat the oven to 175C.
  • Blend together the butter, cream cheese and egg, then add in the cake mix. Combine to make a dough.
  • Take a small handful of dough and roll it into a log (poo!) shape. Repeat until you have used up all the dough.
  • Place your poo shapes on an ungreased baking tray and leave them in the fridge for about 15 minutes.
  • Bake your biscuits in the preheated oven for 7‐9 minutes.
  • Leave them to cool completely on a wire tray.
  • Mix together the icing sugar with water – this should be a runny consistency. Once cooled, lightly brush the runny icing over the biscuits to give them a glazed, shiny appearance.

Tell a joke

Here are a few of our favourite rubbish jokes to get you started:

  1. What does a sprinter eat before a race?

Nothing – they fast!

  1. Why was Tigger looking down the toilet?

He was trying to find Pooh!

  1. What do you call cheese that doesn’t belong to you?

Nacho cheese!

Can you think of any April Fools’ Day jokes that we haven’t shared here? If so, we’d love you to share them on our Facebook group for Parents and Carers

Websites for Children

There are many websites which explore April Fools’ Day in a child-friendly way. Here are some links to get you started:

History's Greatest April Fools Jokes (nationalgeographic.com)

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