THERE’S SOMETHING INHERENTLY satisfying in pulling off the perfect prank, and what better time to hone up on your prankster skills than April 1st?
Since tomorrow is April Fools’ Day, you may want to try one of these sleeping pranks to make your family or friends chuckle.

Chaos of the Clothes

This prank works especially well during sleepovers, but you can drag your family into the fun too by raiding closets instead of overnight bags. Simply wait until everyone involved in the surreptitious shuffle is asleep, then mix up all their clothing. Nothing is funnier, come morning, than watching that one friend try desperately to shimmy into a pair of jeans that’s a size too small.

Mustache Madness

What do you get when you mix one sleeping friend or family member and a fake, adhesive mustache? You get a whole lot of fun come morning. You’ll have to be super sneaky to adhere the mustache to your victim’s face without waking him or her, but come morning — all your effort will be so worth it. Opt for a mustache that’s small and simple instead of overly large and obvious. It’s much more fun to watch the unsuspecting target walk around for a while without noticing that she suddenly needs a shave.

Time to Fly

Simple, but classic, Time to fFy requires you to set every clock in the house ahead at least one hour. This prank is the perfect one to enact on family members — sending them off to work or to wait for the bus a whole hour ahead of schedule. In the meantime, you get a leisurely, quiet breakfast and the bathroom all to yourself.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Choose your most finicky friend, sister or brother — the one who fusses the most about his or her hair. Clip locks of hair off an old wig that’s the right color and scatter them on the floor surrounding the diva’s bed. Add a pair of scissors in the middle and watch the horror dawn next morning. This prank works especially well if you’re stationed nearby to feign your own horror as the person wakes up to you shouting, “Who did that to your hair!”

Baked

Does your potential victim sleep on white sheets? If so, the stage is ready. Simply wait until the room is empty, pull back the covers and sprinkle flour all over the bottom, fitted sheet. Sprinkle lightly and avoid the very top where the person will tug down the sheet to slide in. Done correctly, the flour isn’t noticeable until next morning when your victim slides out of bed looking like a cake pan ready for the oven.

Of course, there are always the tried-and-true classics, like dipping a sleeping victim’s fingers into warm water or telling horrifying, yet funny bedtime stories. They’re deceptively easy to orchestrate but every bit as hilarious, hence the term “classic.” And if you need ideas for pranking, you can always pop in a copy of “Animal House,” Dumb and Dumber,” or “Porky’s” for inspiration.

Have fun this April 1st as you try out these harmless pranks that will keep everyone in the house rolling with laughter. And when it’s all over and you go to bed, remember to keep one eye open. Payback can be scary.