The year has countless holidays that can keep us entertained and laughing. And April Fools Day is among the best days for great office pranks!
Our Favorite Gut-Busters!
- Host an entertaining and hilarious company event
- Have a funny photo contest
- Hand out prank gift boxes
- White elephant gift exchange
Here are four of the best April Fools Day activities for work that will help make the day a bit more enjoyable.
See Related: How Humor Improves Communication
#1. Host An Entertaining Company Event
April Fools Day is an excellent holiday for many reasons. For starters, it gives you a pass to say many ridiculous things while shouting “April Fools!” afterward.
No matter how old we get, these simple pranks really never get old. But maybe that’s just us.
However, no one really knows where this holiday actually started. Many think it started in the Middle Ages in France.
Where It All Began
In 1582, France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, and that caused the New Year to change from April 1st to January 1st.
People were obviously confused by this sudden change in their timekeeping. After all, moving New Year’s Day back a few months can lead to a bit of confusion.
So, the people who were a little slow to pick up on the news continued to celebrate New Year’s as they had on April 1st. And these people ended up getting mocked by the others, who then played tricks on them, calling them “April fools.”
Origins From Rome
Others claim that this tricky day started in ancient Rome. Roman festivals like Hilaria and Saturnalia were celebrated around the end of March and were usually marked by plenty of festivities, pranks, and masquerades.
Regardless of where it originated, April Fools is now a popular day in our culture and is celebrated by many people worldwide.
A Great Way To Keep Your Team Entertained
Now that this fun holiday has rolled around, it’s up to you to keep your team entertained and laughing. You don’t want them to sit idle and let the weird pranks get out of hand!
A great activity your team will surely enjoy is a company event.
Hosting a meaningful and interactive organizational event will keep your employees laughing while helping them feel a bit more connected to each other!
Creating The Foundation For A Great Event
One of the great things about a company event is you can customize it however you’d like. You only need the right speaker to set the tone; the rest will fall in line.
Finding the ideal speaker and entertainer with Clean Comedians® will be easier than you could imagine. All you need to do is figure out if you want a virtual, hybrid, or in-person event and decide if you have any preferences on what type of entertainment should be held.
And then we do the rest!
We Know How To Create An Unforgettable Experience
Each of our speakers does a deep dive into your company’s culture and history so that all the content is unique to your team. And we do everything we can to create an act that will keep everyone laughing and having a great time.
One way we do that is by only providing clean content. That means you don’t need to worry when we bring out our comedians.
There won’t be any crude, political, or divisive jokes. We know that there’s no place for that at a professional event.
Instead, we use genuine humor to keep people entertained. And we do it perfectly!
For this upcoming April Fools Day, we can create an event that gives people yet another reason to love your company. And we’ll include just the right amount of April Fool’s trickery to keep it on theme with the holiday!
#2. Have A Funny Photo Contest
The best April Fools Day activities and pranks don’t go too far. You don’t want to leave people feeling uncomfortable. There’s no room for that type of negative energy in the workplace!
Sometimes, simple is better. Incorporating fun and enjoyable pranks or activities can help your team get into the spirit of the holiday and give them a break from work without wasting precious time.
So, here’s a quick yet fun activity you can pull off.
Hilarious Photos For Everyone!
Encourage your teammates to share a funny photo for a contest to see who can provide the most hilarious snapshot. This is best done over something like Slack or an email chain.
If many people are looking to participate, you can also create multiple categories for entries. Here are a few ideas:
- Unphotogenic moments
- Best Photoshopped picture
- Animals
- Kids
- Embarrassing childhood (or adulthood) photos
- Terrible outfits
- Blast from the past
- Seen in the wild
- Homemade gone wrong
Open it up to video entries if you want to see some real entertainment.
Make sure to let people know they have to submit only original photos. It doesn’t have the same impact if they’re taken from the internet. Because nowadays, you can find anything there!
Bonus: 6 Facts About Comedy Agents Every Comedian Should Know
#3. Hand Out Prank Gift Boxes
Everyone knows that April Fool’s pranks are some of the best pranks out there. So many people wait all year long to safely trick some of their buddies. So, don’t let that opportunity go to waste!
If you don’t want to focus on having pranks done inside the workplace, give your employees the tools to see them through outside the office. Hand out humor-themed goodie boxes full of all the things they’ll need!
What To Put In Your Goodie Bags
Fill goodie bags or boxes with things like:
- Funny books
- Trick candies (and real candies because they’re tasty!)
- Silly string
- Slime
- Fake mustaches
- Novelty items
- Fake bugs
- Fart spray
- Water guns
You can get creative with this. Maybe your office has an inside joke that you can bring to life as a prank through the perfect item!
You can mail them the perfect prank goodie box even if your team is remote.
#4. White Elephant Exchange
Everyone can get on board with a fun gift exchange! And this holiday is the perfect time to throw a white elephant gift exchange for your team.
But instead of heartfelt gifts, now is the time for something silly!
Start by collecting signups, then instruct gift-givers to buy something silly and uncommon for the exchange. (Don’t forget about a price limit.)
When it comes time to exchange gifts, mark each present with a number. Then, take turns pulling numbers from a hat.
Don’t forget about the sneaky aspect of a white elephant exchange. People can choose to steal presents instead of opening a new one!
Wrapping Up
This April Fool’s Day can be the best if you can keep your team entertained. And luckily, even that can be simple!
Keep Reading: 52 Funny Icebreaker Questions To Ask Your Colleagues
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Adam Christing is a professional comedy magician, virtual MC, and the founder of CleanComedians.com. He is a member of the world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood and a popular corporate entertainer, magician, and virtual speaker.