We kids had a blast growing up, finding ways to entertain ourselves using very little money and lots of creativity. A lot of that was due to my older brother Sean's ideas.
One year Sean had the idea that we kids should take advantage of April Fool's Day to set up some surprises for our parents. At some ridiculously early hour, we all three crept out of bed and very quietly got to work.
First we took rolls of toilet paper and very thoroughly TP'd the inside of our house. From a wrought iron railing, to the ceiling fan, to the countertops, to the windows, to the furniture, and so on--there was toilet paper everywhere.
When my parents got up, they were greeted by the streams of tissue all over their living room. They took it well and laughed at the sight. (Why shouldn't they? They knew it would be the kids doing the clean up!)
Then we revealed to them our second surprise. We loved watching Let's Make a Deal on TV. So, thanks to Sean's creativity, we created Let's Make a Meal. We used boxes covered with paper and decorated with large numbers for curtains 1, 2, and 3. I think we had baby food as prizes (due to the "Meal" theme), along with a new car! The car, of course, was about two inches long and was made by Hot Wheels. Sean was the host, and I'm guessing Becki and I played "models," presenting the prizes to my parents, the contestants.
That morning is one of the high points of my childhood memories. From the covert preparations we made for days in advance, to the early morning set-up, to the delight of our parents, it was an exploration of childlike creativity on the silliest day of the year.
If you've ever had a particularly memorable April Fool's Day, I'd love to hear about it!
9 comments:
Beth, you forgot one thing about that April Fool's joke: you tied our door closed - you had rope strung from the outside of our door to another bedroom door so we had to have you let us out of our room when we woke up.
We still can't believe that we didn't wake up! I always woke up with every little sound!
You were GOOD!! It was a lot of fun and laughs. The best! --Mom
Definitely one of my favorite memories, too! Thanks for reminding me of it.
Beth:
What a special, special story. Thanks so much sharing it :-).
That is so funny! (and I love that your mother blogs too)
My most memorable April Fools was in 5th grade. My whole class turned all our desks around and pushed the teacher's desk down the hallway into the bathroom...I don't remember where the teacher had gone during all this, but I expected her to be angry because she was a rather strict teacher...but she laughed (and then told us no more nonsense, back to work!) :)
How fun! April Fools barely registers on my radar so nothing really comes to mind. Sounds like you all had a lot of fun though!
What a great story! If I had experienced April Fools day like this, I'd probably enjoy the day more. :)
That's awesome! One of the best pranks I ever pulled:
I was dating a guy that the ladies in my office weren't too keen on. I bought this TOTALLY cheesy fake "diamond" ring. It was so obviously cut glass and a piece of crap. I came in all a flutter about my BEAUTIFUL engagement ring. The cut glass "stone" was huge. So I was gushing about "Can you believe he SPENT so much?!!!" The ladies stood staring in horror. No one wanted to break it to me that it was a cheap piece of kiddie jewelry. One lady finally pulled me aside to inform me that it was not what I thought. That was when i finally revealed that it was fake and we all had a laugh. But that particular joke also brought to light what the women really thought about my boyfriend. Needless to say, we didn't last long after that!
HA!
Mom--I'd forgotten about the door! Yeah, that was a great part of it!
Becki--I know there's a photo somewhere. It was fun, wasn't it?
Laurel--You're welcome. :)
Dani--Actually, my mom is the one of us who DOESN'T blog. :) My dad and sister both do, and my brother has a blog that he hasn't been updating lately. I think your April Fool's joke was great (harmless fun!)
Call Me Cate--We did have fun. I wish I'd done something to fool someone today. Oh, well.
Isabella--Yes, it's nice to do truly fun things that don't hurt anyone's feelings, you know?
L--I LOVE your story--that is so awesome!
What a great story!
When I think of April Fool's Day I remember the candy store next door to the first place I worked that sold chocolate covered onions for April Fool's Day!
btw, I'm guessing that your parents were great at going along with crazy ideas like this, and that really encouraged you to be creative. Too many parents have trouble enjoying "silly" -- how much those parents miss.
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