A last minute prank for April Fool’s Day

Every country has its version of April Fool’s Day.   In the US, the rule is that NO ONE is safe from silly little pranks. As long as no one gets hurt (even just feelings should be protected) just about anything goes:  a cup of water balanced on a partially open door or the roller removed from the computer mouse are just a few of the harmless pranks that characterize this day dedicated to horsing around. I decided to test out our kid’s sense of humor using an age old classic. The idea is simple:  a noise maker is inserted into an envelope that is disguised as a package containing eggs (when I was little it was rattle snake eggs). When the victim opens the envelope, the noise maker sets off surprising the unsuspecting kid.

You will need:

Step 1: MAKE SURE THAT YOUR VICTIM HAS A SENSE OF HUMOR. The idea should be fun and not hurt anyone’s feelings!
Step 2: Decorate the envelope. I found some images of frogs in an old National Geographic and decided to turn our envelope into a package of frog eggs.  To do so, I cut out some frogs and glued one on to the envelope.

The remaining steps are dedicated to making the noise maker. I used a bottle top but anything that will spin and make noise will work including a small paper clip or a washer.

Step 3: Bend the paper clip so that it forms a U. Make sure that it will fit into your envelope.

Step 4: Wrap the rubber band around the paper clip. Then insert the bottle top so that it is held by the rubber band. Wind the rubber band around 20 to 25 times.

Step 5: Carefully insert the noise maker into the envelope and then close the envelope (when the envelope is opened the bottle top will start to spin and make noise as it hits the sides of the envelope).

Invent a story and have your little one discover the trick behind the Frog Egg package! Take a look at this video to see how we did it.