Top 15 Easy Pranks to Do at Home for Sneaky Fun

Love pranking the siblings & parents or need revenge on someone who pranked you? Try these pranks that'll make you a pranking legend.

Updated February 29, 2024
Pranks lollypops

Welcome, merry pranksters! We see you, and we get it. Much respect. We're glad you've come to us to fill your prank needs. We, like you, love playing great (and mostly harmless) pranks — especially at home.

From your victim's room to prized possessions and even their sleeping body, you have access to a great prank you could only dream about with schoolmates and friends. But being that close to the people you're pranking also means there's equal opportunity for them to be able to get you back. You have to live with your family, and they know where you sleep. Don't prank unless you're ready to face the consequences.

1. Bubble Pop


Discreetly place some bubble wrap around the rim of the toilet bowl and then gently lower the toilet seat onto it. The next time someone sits down to do their business, they'll be in for quite the popping surprise!

2. Suds-Less Soap


bar of soap

Certain things in life are expected. For instance, when you step in the shower, you expect your soap to create a lather. However, when you cover a bar of soap with clear nail polish, your victim can scrub with this coated bar for hours without seeing a single bubble. This is one of the best pranks to do at home for the sheer levels of confusion it can produce. Make sure there is a spare bar of soap, so no one is late for work or school.

Advertisement

3. TV Time


The latest TV features make your television a prankster's paradise. You can create maximum annoyance with minimal effort if you know what buttons to push. If the parental controls aren't already set on the family television, you can make sure the next person to turn it on can't watch anything but preschool shows. Just be ready with the password to change it back before you get in trouble. Some TVs will also allow you to set a timer to turn it on or off at unexpected times.

4. Watered-Down Drink


glass of red juice

Add a few drops of food coloring to plain water so it looks like juice or Kool-Aid. If you want a delayed reaction, pour it into an empty juice bottle and leave it in the fridge. For an immediate effect, offer to get everyone something to drink and bring in glasses of your "juice." The fun is in the looks on the victims' faces when they take a drink, and it's not what they expected.

5. On the Other Foot


Stuff some cotton wool or other similarly soft material (like a sock) into the toes of your victim's favorite shoes. When they put on their shoes, they'll think their feet have suddenly grown (or the shoes have miraculously shrunk). For even more fun, stuff more cotton wool in one shoe than the other so it will feel like one foot is much larger than the other. This is a great prank to do to a sibling since you have easy access to their shoes.

Helpful Hack

You can even use small items of clothing, such as socks or underpants, to pull off this prank. Cotton balls and pads also work. 

Related: 16 Pranks to Do on Siblings That They'll Never Expect

Advertisement

6. Fake Damage


Fake ice cream spill on carpet

You can find props like fake nail polish spills and melting ice cream at joke shops or online. Place one on the new white carpet and wait for the reaction. You can also create fake damage by placing clear tape or clear contact paper on a flat surface and writing on top of it with markers or paint. This would be especially convincing in a home with small children. Make sure you won't ruin the finish on a table or appliance before trying this prank, though.

7. Anti-Snooping Measures


If you fear guests will start looking through your medicine cabinet or you think your brother or sister is snooping around your room, why not give them something to find? Plant a fake medicine bottle for a contagious condition in the bathroom, or booby trap a closet shelf with packing peanuts or confetti. Along with the usual satisfaction you get from a prank well done, you may just teach the victim to mind their own business.

8. Bed Switch


While two small people are sleeping (younger sibs, perhaps), pick them up and place them in each other's beds so they wake up completely confused. This prank only works on sound sleepers, and it's most practical with small children you can easily lift. With the extra sneakiness and planning required, you can feel like you've pulled off a huge prank without the damage usually associated with larger efforts.

Advertisement

9. Short Sheet the Bed


Honey, I shrunk the bed! If you've ever had your bed short-sheeted, then you know this feeling!

Short sheeting is easy to do. When making the bed, fold the top sheet in half before tucking it in. It's a classic camp prank that's effective because it strikes just as the victim is ready to get comfy for the night.

10. Fake Lottery Win


Everyone dreams of winning millions in the lottery! Record the lottery drawing on the nightly news, making sure that you record at least a few minutes before the draw itself. Then, go and buy the ticket for those numbers. Leave your lottery ticket on the coffee table, start playing the recording, and tell your victim that the draw is about to come on. Watch as they are amazed with each matching number, only to realize it was last week's draw.

11. Ants Come Marching


fake ant prank on cookies

Pick up an inexpensive package of plastic ants and scatter some of them somewhere in the kitchen, like in the sugar bowl or near a cupboard where food is stored. Then leave a trail of these ants leading from that spot to another hidden location where you've placed a very large plastic ant. When the victim follows the trail to see where the ants are coming from, they'll be horrified to discover the giant ant that appears to be spawning tiny ones.

Advertisement

12. Not-so Sweet


Prank someone with a sweet tooth with bogus lollypops. You'll need a white lollypop stick, a brussels sprout, and a square of paper. Put the stick in the sprout and wrap it with the paper. Then, offer your unsuspecting victim a sweet. 

13. Colorful Cereal


milk-and-colored-cereal.jpg

Place a few small drops of food coloring into the bottom of a cereal bowl, ideally the same color as the bowl itself. When the victim pours milk into that bowl, he or she will be aghast to find the milk turning a strange color.

14. Yummy Yogurt


Clean out an empty mayonnaise jar with the label still clearly attached. Put some vanilla yogurt in there instead. When the guests arrive, take the "mayo" jar out of the refrigerator and proceed to eat the yogurt straight out of the jar. They'll think you're crazy, snacking on mayo! This can also be a funny April Fools prank to play on a teacher or lunchroom worker.

Advertisement

15. Flipping Out


Turn someone's Windows computer screen upside down with a simple trick that's easy to undo. 

Turn on the computer, right-click on the desktop, and select "display settings." This opens up a settings window. From the dropdown labeled display orientation, select "landscape (flipped)," and the screen will flip upside-down, including mouse movements. Most people don't know how to change this, and they'll be very confused with the upside-down computer screen.

All in Good Fun

We're all about winning the prank wars — and doing it in a way that leaves everyone laughing and nobody upset. So keep your pranks harmless and fun, and be prepared for payback because we bet you're not the only one in your house who can look up fun pranks online. 

Top 15 Easy Pranks to Do at Home for Sneaky Fun