How to Prank Your Brother: 22+ Hilarious Ideas

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The best April Fool’s pranks (that won’t get you in trouble)

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IN THIS ARTICLE

1 Closet Surprise

2 Ding Dong Ditch

3 Scary Mask

4 Whipped Cream & Tickles

5 Falling Water

6 Tape the Lights

7 Wedgie!

8 Dresser Drawer Shuffle

9 Cotton Toes

10 Kick Me!

11 Palms Down

12 Nail Polish Soap

13 Food Coloring Soap

14 Food Coloring Toothbrush

15 Sponge or Cake?

16 Fly Eater

17 Toothpaste Oreos

18 Vinegar Milk

19 Salt & Pepper Soda

20 Broken Remote

21 Jell-O Controller

22 Desktop Pic Switch-Up

More Example Pranks

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Article Summary

Co-authored by Sophie Burkholder, BA

Last Updated: March 19, 2026 Fact Checked

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Ah, the sweet taste of revenge! You must be sick of being outsmarted, outdone, and outpranked by your brother. Well, it's time to turn the tables by making your brother scream, squirm, or just make a complete fool of himself because of your awesome pranks! Keep reading for a list of hilarious pranks to play on your brother, or join our discussion to check out fun and wild pranks submitted by other wikiHow readers!

What are the funniest pranks for brothers?

• Dresser Drawer Shuffle: Switch the order or contents of your brother’s dresser drawers to make him feel like he’s losing his mind!
• Palms Down: Bet your brother that he can’t balance a glass of water on the backs of each of his hands with his palms down on the table. Once he’s done it—leave the room!
• ‘Sponge’ Cake: Decorate a kitchen sponge with frosting and sprinkles so that it looks like a piece of cake…then leave it for your brother to take a bite out of.
• Toothpaste Oreos: Remove the cream from a sleeve of Oreo cookies, replace it with white toothpaste, then put the Oreos back together for your brother to find.
• Nail Polish Soap: Coat a bar of soap with clear nail polish, let it dry, then leave it in the shower (as the only available soap) when your brother goes to rinse off.

Steps

1

Closet Surprise

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1. 
   Spook your brother with a big surprise from inside the closet! Pick a time when your brother doesn't think you're home and nobody else is there. Then, hide in a closet that’s far away from where he is in the house (maybe your own bedroom closet!). Then, quietly call the house phone (or your brother’s cell phone) from your cell phone. When he answers, tell him that you need him to go to the closet you’re hiding in to check on something for you.

   • When he opens the closet, jump out at him and say “Boo!” He’ll never expect to see you there and will totally freak out! You'll be able to hold this one against him for years.
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2

Ding Dong Ditch

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1. 
   Ring the doorbell…then disappear before your big scare! Start by finding a large cardboard box that you can climb inside and close the top of. Place the box on your front porch, ring the doorbell, and jump inside the box—making sure to quickly close it over yourself. When your brother opens the door and approaches the box, jump out!

   • This works best if you ring the doorbell when he's a bit away from the door, so he doesn't answer it too soon and see you climbing into the box.
   • If you can't find any big cardboard boxes around the house, then you can get some at your local grocery store. Just ask one of the employees—many grocery stores often give away their extra boxes.

3

Scary Mask

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1. 
   Give your brother a good ol’ horror movie scare. Wait until your brother is really engrossed in a computer game, movie, book, or anything else that makes him not notice who else is in the room. If you can do this at night, when most of the lights in his room are out, then even better. Put on a creepy clown, Scream, or Jason mask and slowly creep up to him until you're practically breathing down his neck. Then, release a guttural, terrifying howl, and watch him jump five feet in the air.

   • If you have another friend or sibling who is as quiet as a mouse, they can film the whole thing, and you can use it as blackmail 😈
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4

Whipped Cream & Tickles

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1. 
   Force your brother to cover his whole face in whipped cream! Wait until your brother is sound asleep (this at-home prank works best if he's sleeping on his back with both of his arms out). Then, carefully squeeze a bunch of whipped cream into one of his palms. Then, use a feather or something small and light to gently brush against his nose. He'll instinctively clap his hand on to his face and get whipped cream all over!

   • If you want to make sure this works every time, you can put whipped cream in both his hands!

5

Falling Water

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1. 
   This oldie but goodie prank will get everyone soaked! Open a door halfway and place a bucket filled with water above it so that the bucket rests between the wall and the top of the door. When your brother opens the door, he’ll be taking a little impromptu bath!

   • This works best in a bathroom or with a door that goes outdoors, where it won’t matter if you get water everywhere.
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6

Tape the Lights

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1. 
   Keep your brother in the dark…literally! Put some clear tape on all of the light switches early in the morning. Your brother will still be nice and groggy, wondering why none of the lights in the house work! When he sees you, tell him your house has no power. Wait for him to figure out that you're lying on his own. You can even tell him that the water in the house doesn't work, either, and see if he falls for it.

7

Wedgie!

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1. 
   Turn your brother into Captain Underpants with this classic prank. Wait until your brother has turned away from you, and then sneak up on him as quietly as you can. Reach down to grab his underwear from the back and pull it up as high as you can. This is guaranteed to make him scream and squirm! If you're really feeling up for it, you can try to give him an atomic wedgie, trying to pull his underwear up so high that you can wrap it over his head (this works best if your brother is a lot smaller than you are)!
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8

Dresser Drawer Shuffle

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1. 
   Make your brother feel totally crazy by moving around his clothes. Go into your brother’s room and switch the placement of his drawers in his dresser, or, if that’s not possible, just switch the contents of each drawer into another. He’ll be completely confused, making this a perfectly unexpected prank. If he asks you if you’ve gone into his room, just act completely oblivious!

9

Cotton Toes

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1. 
   Stuff cotton in your bro’s shoes to give him an unexpected surprise. Just stuff a little bit of cotton (i.e., cotton balls or the inside of a pillow) in your brother's shoes. The next time he puts them on, he'll think something funny is going on, like maybe that he's outgrown his shoes. He may even walk around like that all day if he's not smart enough to think some funny business is going on! This is perfect for boots or sneakers.
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10

Kick Me!

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1. 
   Make your brother’s butt the butt of the joke by sticking a sign onto it! Get a piece of paper that’s a similar color to a surface in your home, like a couch or a chair. Then, put some double-sided tape or glue onto one side of the piece of paper and write “Kick Me!” on the other side. Place the paper sticky-side-up on the couch or chair. Wait for your brother to sit on the paper, and when he gets up, he'll be walking around with the “Kick me” paper on his butt!

11

Palms Down

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1. 
   This fun, classic prank will keep your brother trapped—or wet! First, show your brother that you’ve gotten really good at balancing a glass of water on the back of your hand when your palm is down on the table. Bet him that he can’t do it with both hands (he’ll likely be up for the challenge). Then, have him put both of his palms down on a table while you place two full glasses of water over his hands. Then, say "Bye!" or "Good luck!" and casually walk out of the room. He'll be trapped—he'll have to dump water all over himself before he can be set free!
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12

Nail Polish Soap

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1. 
   Make your bro go crazy trying to get his soap to work! A couple of hours before your brother takes a shower, take some clear nail polish and cover his bar of soap with it. After the polish dries, the soap won’t work at all! Make sure that there’s no other soap in the shower that your brother can use, then wait for him to come out of the shower and tell you that his soap doesn’t work. Act completely oblivious and, if possible, you could sneakily replace the ruined bar of soap with a new one after his shower so that it works totally fine if he tries to show you what happened.

13

Food Coloring Soap

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1. 
   Turn your brother’s hands dirty…no matter how much he washes them! Place a drop of yellow food coloring onto the bottom of the bar of soap by the bathroom sink. When your brother goes into the bathroom next, he'll start washing his hands and will wonder why they're only getting more and more dirty! And if he comes out without realizing what happened, then you can laugh at him for not properly washing his hands! Just make sure to warn everyone else about the prank so your unsuspecting parent or grandparent doesn't come out of the bathroom with yellow hands.
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14

Food Coloring Toothbrush

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1. 
   This prank will make your brother think he needs an emergency dentist appointment! Place one tiny drop of red food coloring onto the bottom of your brother’s toothbrush bristles. He’ll start brushing his teeth, only to look in the mirror in horror—thinking he has the world’s most sensitive gums! Soon, he'll start to look like a vampire, and he may suspect that you've been up to something! This works best in the morning, when he's rushing around and has no time for your jokes!

15

Sponge or Cake?

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1. 
   Have your brother expecting yummy cake…only to get a mouthful of sponge! Take a sponge and cover it with frosting, sprinkles, or any of your brother’s favorite treats to make it look like a piece of cake. Leave the sponge-cake in an inconspicuous place in the kitchen, maybe on top of the microwave or even in the fridge, making it seem like it's your piece of cake and you really don't want anyone to touch it. If you bring it up to him, then he'll have less of a chance of eating it. Then, sit back and wait for him to howl in confusion when he bites into an ordinary kitchen sponge.
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16

Fly Eater

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1. 
   Your brother will think you’re ~totally~ unhinged after this funny prank! Squish a raisin into a napkin and then tell your brother you just caught a fly. Then, get a maniacal look on your face and start to laugh like you're off your rocker. Reach into the napkin and eat the fly, delightedly smacking your lips as you chew the whole thing. Then, just shrug and walk away like nothing out of the ordinary happened. Don't tell him what you really did—he'll never figure it out.

17

Toothpaste Oreos

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1. 
   Serve up some tasty toothpaste Oreos! If your brother is really into Oreos, then all you have to do is carefully separate an Oreo, fill the inside with white toothpaste, and put it back together again. You can even do this to a handful of Oreos if you don't know which one he'll take. Wait for your brother to take a bite of his favorite treat, looking utterly confused and grossed out in the process.
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18

Vinegar Milk

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1. 
   Got (vinegar) milk? Wait until your brother pours himself a glass of milk. If he drinks a bit of it and then leaves it unattended, quickly run in and drop a tiny bit of vinegar into the glass and stir it around. Wait until he returns to the glass and takes a confused and icky sip. Have a trash can close…because he might vomit. Just make sure the glass isn't left unattended for too long, or an unsuspecting family member may drink the sour liquid!

19

Salt & Pepper Soda

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1. 
   Give your brother a *seasoned* version of his favorite drink! Take a drink that your brother has been drinking (other than water) and put some salt and pepper in it. The more, the better! When your brother takes a sip, he’ll be totally disgusted by what used to be his favorite beverage.
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20

Broken Remote

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1. 
   Frustrate your brother by robbing him of his favorite TV shows! If your brother loves to channel surf as much as the average brother, then this will be the perfect prank for him. Just take a tiny piece of clear tape and cover the light on the remote so that it no longer works on the TV. Your brother will be completely confused when he tries to watch his favorite show, and may even try to put in new batteries before he figures out your trick (if he figures it out at all!). This works best when you have his least favorite TV show playing.

21

Jell-O Controller

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1. 
   Become the ultimate final boss by dropping his game controller in Jell-O! Make a box of Jell-O according to package instructions, then pour a layer into a container that’s large enough to hold the video game controller. Use food wrap to completely cover the game controller, then, for added security, place it into an airtight bag and seal tightly. When the first layer of Jell-O has hardened, place the controller on top and cover it with another layer of liquid Jell-O. Let it harden, then take off the top layer of Jell-O. Remove the controller and its wrappings, then set it back in place and put the top layer of Jell-O back on.

   • Call your brother into the kitchen and watch him freak out!!
   • It’s very important that you do not damage your brother’s video game controller in any way. Make sure to keep it away from liquid Jell-O, and don’t let it sit for too long in the hardened Jell-O.
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22

Desktop Pic Switch-Up

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1. 
   Not even his personal computer will feel safe after this prank! If your brother actually manages to step away from his computer for five minutes, change his desktop picture to something completely ridiculous as quickly as you can. Choose an image from My Little Ponies, Teletubbies, or pictures of the cutest cats you've ever seen. Or, a picture of your face with a big heart drawn around it!

More Example Pranks

1. Looking for even more brotherly pranks? Check out this web-viewable and downloadable document with an even longer list of amazing pranks to play on your brother:
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Sample Example Pranks

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• Question

  What if my brother knows all these tricks?

  

  Community Answer

  Try this one: while he's sleeping in his room, sneak in and put lotion or Vaseline on his doorknob and close the door from the outside when you leave.

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  Thank you for your feedback.
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• Question

  How do I write a love letter to make it sound true?

  

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  Say "Dear [your brother's name], I've kept my feelings secret because I was embarrassed, but I can't keep my feelings secret anymore! I love you, [your brother's name], and want to kiss you so bad. Maybe you could sneak into the girls' bathroom tomorrow at school and we could do this? Love, [some girl at school]." Type it so your brother doesn't recognize your handwriting, or have a friend write it.

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• Question

  How can I scare my younger brother without getting in trouble by my parents?

  

  Community Answer

  Try doing something simple, such as hiding in the closet and yelling boo! You can also leave a plastic spider someplace where he will find it. Consider doing something nice for your younger brother afterward; this will lessen the chances of your parents getting mad at you.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
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Tips

• Make sure to keep your pranks light and fun—you shouldn’t do any pranks that would actually hurt your brother, or that would deeply shame, scare, embarrass, or humiliate him.
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• If your brother is young (or younger than you), he’ll probably be more sensitive to scary pranks. So keep that in mind, and be kind!
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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

• This prank always works on my brother. When you are ready, tell your parents about the prank and ask them to send your brother to bed. Hide in your brother's bed and when he enters his room, jump out at him. My brother was so surprised. It was a good prank.
• Put uncooked pasta in your mouth, then ask your brother to crack your neck for you. When he does it bite down on the pasta and fake dead or pretend it hurts like he broke your neck. Round pasta works best.
• One prank you can do is to put toothpaste on his hair brush handle. When he goes to try to brush his hair, all he will get is a wad full of toothpaste on his hand.
• If you can get his phone, take a screenshot of the games/main page, then move the contents of that page into a folder and set the screenshot as their background.
• Hide in the bathroom with the lights off. When he comes in, talk in a creepy voice and when he turns on the lights, say ''Boo!''
• You can also go into a room and hide behind the door, then call your brother and when he comes in, jump out and say "Boo!"
• If your brother is a boy who hates dolls, then put dolls on his desk, dresser, and carpet.
• Don't do anything to permanently wreck him. Have fun, but don't hurt him.

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