April Fool’s Day is this Friday, so you’d better prepare your arsenal of tricks and tomfoolery soon! When it comes to tricking children—particularly young children—I think a good rule to follow is to do something silly or whimsical rather than prank-ish. While teens may enjoy a good prank (and they may not, too; some things can make people feel very sensitive or hurt, so be careful), children may be less likely to understand a practical joke—or, at least, the humor in it. Here are some fun ways to bring a little silliness into your children’s lives on April Fool’s this year.

Deck out their bedrooms while they are asleep. This is going to be so awesome when we do it for our daughter this year! We were going to rent a helium tank and fill her ceiling with balloons—which we still might do, if we end up with a little extra money. But now our plan is to hang a bunch of streamers from her ceiling to form a tent, as she is obsessed with tents right now. (I got this excellent idea from A Magical Childhood.)

Cook up some funny, yummy foods. These tricky foods are hilarious. From fake mashed potatoes and peas to pre-sliced bananas, these tastebud tricks are a hoot! Older kids might also appreciate freezing fake insects in ice cube trays, or adding natural dyes to drinks (pink milk?) or food (green pancakes?).

Did you see that? My aunt’s favorite trick to play on us when we were kids was the “alligator” or the “leprechaun” she spotted in the front yard. These were always hilarious because the younger kids (including myself at one point!) always fell for it. Did you heart that? is also a lot of fun, since my dad would always make goofy squirrel noises or worse, pass gas, then blame the “barking tree spider.” Oh yeah, those memories haunt me, Dad!

Do an ice cream bedtime psych-out. Prepare for bedtime as you normally would with your story, jammies, and whatnot, then turn out the light—only to reappear within thirty seconds to announce that it’s time to go out for ice cream! This is one of my daughter’s favorite surprises, and any kid who enjoys ice cream (or, in our case, frozen yogurt, as we usually head to Culver’s) is sure to get a kick out of it, too.