How to Prank at a Sleepover

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: October 9, 2022 References

Having a sleepover with your friends can be so much fun. Add even more excitement to any sleepover by creating a little mischief. Prank your friends who make the mistake of falling asleep before you or prank other people together. Make some great memories and spend the night laughing by pranking some of your friends during your next sleepover.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Choosing the Person to Prank

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Prank the person who falls asleep first. The first person to fall asleep is an easy target for pranks because there will still be many people awake to enjoy the fun together. Or, if you prefer, you can wait for a few people to fall asleep so there are more people to prank.^{[1]
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- Try to be very quiet. Since there might be a lot of people participating in the prank, it’s easy to get carried away with the fun. But if you make too much noise, the sleeping person might wake up and your prank will be ruined.
2
Prank someone not at your sleepover. If you want to make sure that none of your friends get upset by being the butt of your pranking jokes, then choose to prank someone else. This will keep you from having to explain anything to your friends (or their parents) in the morning.
- Basically, this means prank calling someone else. Think of a funny prank call and enjoy it with all of your friends.^{[2]
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Pick someone who won’t get upset. This is especially important if you’re pranking one of your friends who is at the sleepover with you. Some people get easily embarrassed and upset. These are not good people to prank because they might not appreciate the humor. Think about who would think the prank is funny and pick that person to avoid hurt feelings.^{[3]
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- You don’t want to ruin the sleepover or cause a fight with your friends because of a silly prank.
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Keep the element of surprise. If you tell everyone that you’re planning pranks for the sleepover, then no one will want to fall asleep and it won’t be as funny because everyone will be expecting your pranks.^{[4]
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Research source} If you want to prank people at the sleepover, wait until people start falling asleep and then tell your other friends about your funny plans to prank them.
- Tell no one ahead of time about your prank plans. Or just tell one or two people who you know will love being in on the fun.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Picking a Great Prank Idea

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Try a funny prank. There are many options for pranks and a lot of them involve physical humor. Come up with an idea that is funny and will keep your friends laughing for days. For example, you could try one of these pranks:
- Put toothpaste on your friend’s fingers, then tickle their face. You could also use peanut butter or whipped cream.
- Put shaving cream into his/her shoes.
- If someone opens their mouth to snore, squirt sour spray!
- Draw on them with a black (not permanent) marker. Make a silly design on their face or arms. Anything you can access without waking them up. Draw a mustache and a beard. Just make sure it is the kind of marker that will rub off easily.
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Make prank phone calls. Prank calls are a great way to create hilarious memories with your friends. Just make sure you don’t call anyone that will be offended by your prank call. You should only call people who will appreciate the humor since it’s all in good fun.^{[5]
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- Try calling someone and asking someone if their refrigerator is running. When they say yes, tell them that they better go catch it!
- You could also make prank calls using the cell phone of a person who already fell asleep at your sleepover. Just make sure you don’t do anything that could get them in trouble.
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Try a scary prank. Pranks that scare someone for a moment can be hilarious. But be careful to keep the joke lighthearted. You want the people that you prank to be able to realize it is a joke right away, rather than being legitimately scared. For example, you could try one of these pranks:
- Put makeup on your face to make yourself look like an insane clown. Then wake up your friends!
- Hide in the shower behind the shower curtain and pop out when someone comes in to use the bathroom. Just make sure to do it before they start using the bathroom to avoid any awkwardness.
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Try sleep-related pranks. Sometimes people do funny things in their sleep and it can be really funny to record it or to talk about it the next morning. But, even if no one does anything funny in their sleep, you can always pretend they did as another prank!
- Tell someone they said funny stuff in their sleep. For example, you could tell your friend that while he was sleeping he said, "I love the lunch-lady".
- If someone is a terrible sleep talker, record the funny things they say.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Making Sure Everyone Has Fun

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Don’t do something permanent. Pranks can be a lot of fun, but you don’t want to leave a mess that takes days or weeks to clean up. Don’t use permanent marker if you draw on someone’s face or other body parts.
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Avoid pranks that will get someone in trouble. You don’t want your friends’ parents to think you are a bad influence, so always avoid pranks that could get someone in trouble. Don’t do things that cause damage to people’s bodies or property.
- This means avoid toilet-papering people’s houses or egging cars. Try not to ruin your clothes or make a huge mess. And definitely don’t do anything dangerous that could get someone hurt. Nothing ruins a prank faster than a necessary trip to the hospital.^{[6]
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Don’t be mean spirited. Pranking is only enjoyable when it’s all in good fun. If you use pranking as a way to bully someone you don’t like or to make someone else feel like they don’t belong, then this isn’t a prank. It’s just you being a bully. Only prank people who you know will respond well to it and who you are really friends with. Don’t use pranks as a way to exclude someone else.^{[7]
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Prank yourself sometimes. People might start getting annoyed at you if they think you always prank them, but you never let yourself be pranked. If you want the pranks to be all in good fun, you have to let yourself be the target sometimes. This means letting other people prank you and not getting upset about it.
- You can also play pranks on yourself. For example, you could pour some water on the front of your pants and pretend that you accidentally wet yourself.

Community Q&A

Question

I have a friend who is terrified of spiders. Should I prank her by putting a fake spider on her head, or is that mean?

Community Answer

That would be mean. Scary pranks should only be scary for a moment, and they should make people laugh afterwards; she's scared of spiders, so that would scare her for more than a moment, and she wouldn't find it funny after it's over. Pick a prank that involves something she isn't afraid of.