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April Fools’ Day is one of the silliest days of the year, and Dollar Tree makes it affordable and easy to pull off. What better way to celebrate than by pulling some hilarious pranks on your friends and family? If you’re out of ideas or just looking for some inspiration, Dollar Tree April Fools’ Day pranks are easy, convenient, and best yet, cheap.
The shelves of your local Dollar Tree are full of items that, when properly used, will make you the queen or king of April Fools’ Day without going broke. There’s quite a variety of inexpensive items, so it’s the ideal place to stock up on supplies for some creative and budget-friendly pranks. You can even save more by using some items around your house.
Use these low-budget Dollar Tree April Fools’ Day pranks to have everyone laughing (and maybe a little bit annoyed) in no time. For more savings hacks and smart shopping tips, text HACKS to 57299. Let’s get to the pranks!
1. Cheesy Orange Juice: $1.25 – $2.50
Dollar Tree carries Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and did you know the cheese topping is the same color as orange juice? If you’re willing to deal with spit takes at the breakfast table, this’ll be a great replacement for OJ.
What to do: buy a box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese at Dollar Tree and, if you don’t have one at home, a carafe, glass, or bottle. Put just the powdered cheese into the container, and then add water and mix until it looks like orange juice.
Related: Did you know that you can use coupons at Dollar Tree?
2. Pasta Cereal: $1.25 – $2.50
If you’re looking for other goofy breakfast ideas, it’ll be fun to watch as your loved ones pour their morning cereal only to find uncooked penne pasta in their bowl instead!
What to do: buy a bag of penne pasta at Dollar Tree (and if you don’t already have one, a box of cereal). Pour the cereal into a Ziploc bag and then fill the cereal bag with the penne. Sprinkle some of the existing cereal on top to disguise the prank.
3. Windshield Wiper Rainbow: $1.25
Hopefully your mark will have a reason to use their wipers on April Fools’ Day, and hopefully they have a good sense of humor. Because in full disclosure, the rainbow that’s smeared on their windshield is a little tricky to clean up.
What to do: buy the 4-color pack of finger paints at Dollar Tree. Place a blob of each color on the top side of one of the wipers, each next to the other horizontally. Watch the magic when they wipe.
4. Coffee with Cream (of Mushroom): $2.50
This is a classic switcheroo that will absolutely ruin somebody’s cup of coffee, giving it hints of mushroom and salt.
What to do: buy a small coffee creamer and a can of cream of mushroom soup at Dollar Tree. Pour the creamer into another container (no use wasting it) and then fill the bottle with the soup. Place in the refrigerator.
5. Sticky Sweet Soap: $2.50
This one’s simple … never trust a soap dispenser that isn’t clear on April Fools’ Day.
What to do: buy a bottle of pancake syrup and a ceramic soap dispenser from Dollar Tree. Pour the syrup into the soap dispenser and place in a bathroom of your choice.
6. Aloe Vera Sanitizer Drink: $2.50
If you want a pandemic-era twist on the syrup soap, we’ve got a version with an aloe vera drink and hand sanitizer.
What to do: buy a bottle of sanitizer from Dollar Tree (I actually bought a 2-pack of minis) and empty the contents. Buy a bottle of aloe vera juice beverage and pour the beverage into the bottles.
7. Ultimate Sponge Cake: $2.50
It’s amazing what a little frosting and sprinkles will hide. From the outside, the “cake” looks so delicious.
What to do: buy a package of dishwashing sponges from Dollar Tree. Grab a container of frosting from the store, too. Stack two sponges and frost them. Add sprinkles and serve.
8. Dead Remote and a Treat: $1.25
This simple prank will reward people for trying to replace “dead” batteries.
What to do: buy miniature Tootsie Rolls from, you guessed it, Dollar Tree. Replace the batteries in the primary TV remote with mini Tootsie Rolls. Wait for the magic to happen.
9. Mixing Candy Palettes: $2.50
M&M’s and Skittles are two very different candies that look very similar. It’d be a shame if they got all jumbled up. This is simple yet diabolical for the candy purist.
What to do: buy a box each of M&M’s and Skittles. Mix them together in a bowl or a candy jar at home. Wait for the screams when someone chews a mixture of the two.
10. Spam Twinkie: $1.25 – $2.50
Everyone loves getting a Twinkie for their lunch. But what happens when you open that Twinkie and it’s some of the cheapest canned meat money can buy? Mayhem.
What to do: buy a can of Luncheon Loaf at Dollar Tree. Slide it out of the can and shape with a knife to match the rounded rectangle shape of a Twinkie. Crumple a sheet of aluminum foil, open it up, and then wrap the “Twinkie.” Buy aluminum foil at the dollar store if you don’t have any.
11. Fake Broken Phone: $1.25
This is one of the better and simpler pranks that everyone should do. We all love our phones; wouldn’t it be great to convince someone that you’d shattered their screen (but hadn’t)?
What to do: buy a single-sheet phone screen protector at Dollar Tree. Take it out of the packaging and forcefully pinch and bend it, creating tiny cracks. Then remove the cover and apply the sticky side to the target’s phone. It looks super realistic!
12. Toilet Tricks: $2.50
A lot of April Fools’ Day humor revolves around the bathroom, but two of the most beloved tricks are replacing the toilet paper for duct tape (yikes!) and wrapping the toilet with plastic wrap, rendering it unusable.
What to do: buy a roll of duct tape at Dollar Tree and put it on the toilet roll in the bathroom (hiding the other toilet paper). Buy a roll of plastic wrap, open both the lid and the seat, and wrap the top of the bowl.
Other Dollar Tree April Fools’ Day Pranks
- Buy liquid eyeliner and draw a mustache on an unsuspecting sleepy person. (It’s better than a makeup pencil because it’s smoother and won’t wake them up, in theory.)
- Buy price tag stickers and fool your family by putting them on favorite toys, collectibles, furniture, and more. Tell them you’re having a garage sale.
- Buy Oreos and carefully scrape out the frosting, replacing it with white toothpaste.
- Buy a snack pack of flavored gelatin and place it in a juice glass with a straw; it looks like there’s juice in there, but they can’t drink it!
- Buy fake bugs and place them on the inside of a lampshade to freak people out.
What are your favorite April Fools’ Day pranks? What have you used from Dollar Tree to prank someone?
