Silly & Scary Pranks to Play at a Sleepover + How to Pull Them Off

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Your comprehensive guide to sleepover pranks, gags, and tricks

Co-authored by Carmine Shannon

Last Updated: October 31, 2024 Fact Checked

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Sleepover Pranks

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How to Pull Off a Prank

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Q&A

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Tips

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Warnings

Pulling pranks at sleepovers is a tradition as old as…uh…sleepovers. If one of your friends makes the mistake of falling asleep first—bam. You got ‘em. Pranks can get a little elaborate or be tricky to pull off in good fun (pranks should make everyone laugh, including the prankees), so we’ve compiled a list of the best sleepover pranks, plus some tips on how to safely carry them out. Keep reading for some mischievous ideas!

Section 1 of 2:

Sleepover Pranks to Choose From

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1
Confetti shower Get a small, light cardboard box (like a tissue box with the top cut off) and fill it with confetti. Slightly open a door and balance the box on the top by resting it against the wall. You can also make a net by taping newspaper to the top and the wall, which will rip when they open the door.^{[1]
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- If you don’t have confetti, use ripped up pieces of paper.
- Use a light box to be sure no one gets hurt. A tissue box is perfect—just ask an adult to cut the top off for you.
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Never-ending alarms Be prepared: this prank will keep you and everybody else up all night. Find as many alarm clocks, timers, and phones as you can and hide them all over the room you’re sleeping in. Set each one to go off at a different time. To really drive your friends crazy, set one to go off every hour.
- Sleeping pranks are fun ways to stay up all night (what else are sleepovers for?) but don’t play them on people if they have something important to do the next day.
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Extra scary movie Turn out all the lights in a room with a window, then put on a scary movie. Once the movie really gets going (and everyone’s peeking through their hands) excuse yourself to “go to the bathroom.” Go outside and sneak up to the window, then knock on it. You can slip back inside during the ensuing chaos.
- If you don’t have a room with a window, just wait until a really quiet scene in the movie, then scream as loudly as you can.
- Get an adult’s permission before going outside at night.
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Shoe fillers To give your friends a very innocent surprise, fill their shoes with cotton balls, coins, M&Ms, or toilet paper. Put the filler up in the toes of their shoes so they don’t instantly see them. If your friend isn’t too faint of heart, you could also use plastic spiders.^{[2]
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- This prank works best with slip-on shoes since the prankee won’t have to pick them up to put them on.
- Pranks are meant to be fun and not damaging or hurtful. Don’t use anything that could ruin their shoes, like liquids and shaving cream, and don’t use anything spikey that could cut their feet.
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Bound at the foot This is a great way to get two of your friends to be…closer. If two people fall asleep with their wrists or ankles next to each other, use a piece of clothing (like a long sock or hair band) to tie them together. Be very gentle, you don’t want them waking up in the middle of the prank!
- Tie your friends together loosely—making your knots too tight could wake them up or hurt them.
If you have several people at your sleepover, wait until at least two of them have fallen asleep, then dump all their clothes on the floor. Mix the clothes together, then put them back into the bags. Just...act like nothing happened when the prankees are trying to get dressed in the morning.
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Wildlife sightings Hide scary fake animals all over your house for your friends to find. You could put a plastic snake in the fridge, a toy spider under their pillow, or even a fake alligator in your toilet.
- If you don’t have time to get toys (or want to tone down the scare factor) just put googly eyes on all the containers in your fridge, then ask your friend to get you a drink.^{[3]
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  - Ask your parents before putting googly eyes on reusable containers.
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Famous (fake) cake Start this prank a day or two before the sleepover starts. Tell everyone who’s coming about your family’s famous cake recipe—really play it up. Use cake frosting to completely cover a small cardboard box. Ask a friend of yours to cut the cake—they’ll be really surprised when they hit cardboard!
- This can also be a fun way to prank someone on their birthday, but make a real cake for the person, too.
- To make the prank last a little longer, make the cake out of sponges. That way, they’re more likely to think they’re actually cutting into cake. Make sure no one eats a sponge, though!
- If you really want to sell the image you can even decorate it.
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Toothpaste Oreos Get a pack of Oreos and remove a few, say 8 or 9. Take them apart and scrape out the filling with a butter knife. Squeeze thick white toothpaste (or mayo, as a substitute) on one side and put it back together. Put the Oreos back in the package, then leave it out on the snack table for anyone to enjoy.^{[4]
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- Eat a couple of Oreos when your friends are watching so they don’t suspect anything.
Take your friend’s toothpaste and stick a raisin almost all the way through the opening, but don’t go so far that it pops into the tube. Your friend’s going to get a real surprise when they go for some toothpaste and a raisin pops out!
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Homemade (brussel sprout) truffles Buy some raw brussel sprouts and chocolate bars. Have your parents help you melt the chocolate, then dip your brussel sprouts into it. Roll them around so they’re fully covered, then let them cool. Serve them up to your friends for a midnight snack.^{[5]
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- To make them look even more convincing, roll them in nuts or sprinkles before they dry.
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Ghostly messages If your friends often shower at your house after a sleepover, write them a ghost message on the bathroom mirror. Put two drops of dish soap into a cup of water and swirl it around. Dip a cotton swab in the water, then use it to write a message on the mirror.^{[6]
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- These hidden messages appear when the mirror fogs up!
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Phone-in-a-bottle Get a totally empty, clean plastic bottle and remove the label. Have an adult help you cut a discreet slit in the side or bottom, then take a sleeping friend’s phone and put it through the slit. Put the label back on the bottle and put it by your friend. They’ll have no idea what's happening when their alarm goes off!
- Face the best-looking side towards the sleeper so it’s harder for them to figure out how you got the phone in the bottle. For example, if you had to tape the label back on, turn the untaped side away from them.
Ask your parents if you can put little piles of lentils in the corners of the room you’ll be sleeping in. When your friends notice them, act shocked. Say something like: “I thought I got rid of all the tarantula eggs! Well… don’t worry, they shouldn’t hatch for at least another week.”
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Soapy toes If any of your friends don’t sleep with their feet under a blanket, take a little bit of gel hand soap and squeeze it on their toes. The soap is light enough to not wake them up, but they’ll spend all night trying to rub it off with their feet.^{[7]
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- Usually, playing pranks with liquids and gels (like shaving cream) is a little too messy to be fun for everyone.^{[8]
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  Research source} Soap, however, is easy to wash out of blankets and clothes (and their feet, of course).
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Prizeless piñata If you’re having a big party, try pranking your friends by filling a piñata with some unorthodox prizes. Instead of candy, try putting confetti or plastic spiders. If you’re doing it outside, filling the piñata with pudding can be a hilarious prank. Just ask your parents for permission first.
- The piñata could also just be totally empty! Or filled with anything that won’t hurt anyone if it hits them.
- If you’re doing a prank with something that can stain clothes, consider telling your friends that you’ll be doing messy crafts at your party, so they should wear clothes that can get stained.
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Head in the bed Give your friends a frightening wake-up call by putting a mask, scary doll, or mannequin head in their bed, as close to their face as possible. Even if your friend’s not a morning person, they’ll be up for the day with a start!
- If you know your friend gets scared easily (like if they cry at scary movies) don’t try this prank on them.
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Prank calls A tried and true classic, the prank call is a timeless sleepover pastime. Call a friend or a family member with a good sense of humor. You can try to make up your own spiel, or you can use a prank-calling website to send a prerecorded message.
- In the olden days, kids would prank call businesses and strangers. In general, however, it’s more considerate to not prank people at their jobs or people you don’t know. There are, however, some funny numbers to call (that you could even prank your guests with!)^{[9]
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  - Call 626-831-9333 to talk to the characters on Sesame Street, 951-262-3062 to speak to Santa himself, and 248-434-5508 to get “Rickrolled.”
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Funny photoshoot If your friend has a smartphone, snatch it while they’re sleeping and take some funny pics of you and your other friends. You could do silly poses, dress up, or act out strange scenes (like a staged fight between two of your friends). If you’re close friends with the sleeper, you can even include them in the photos!
- Generally, it’s always good to ask someone’s permission before taking their photo or recording them. If the sleeper is your easy-going best friend, then it’s much more likely to be okay.
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Sleeping beauty You know, your friend who fell asleep first might look a little better with some red lipstick, or bold eyebrows…or maybe even a mustache. Give the prankee a makeover, or use non-waterproof eyeliner to write funny things on their face.
- Face drawing is a popular prank, but to make sure no one gets (too) upset, always use something that can be easily washed off, and never use a permanent marker on someone’s skin.
- If anyone uses ink on you, use hand sanitizer to remove it.^{[10]
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Sleep talker If a friend of yours is a big sleep talker, tell them that they said something funny or embarrassing when they were knocked out. Even if your friend doesn’t talk in their sleep, you can always pretend they did as an extra layer to the prank.
- For example, you could tell your friend that they said “I love the lunch lady” while they were sleeping.

Section 2 of 2:

How to Pull Off a Prank

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1
Pick someone who won’t get upset. Some people can get easily embarrassed or upset, so choose someone to prank who’s got a great sense of humor. It’s always best to prank someone who’s also going to think the prank was funny, and that helps make sure everyone has a good time.^{[11]
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- As a rule, don’t prank anyone in a way that makes them feel bothered or bullied. If one of your guests is a new friend, invite them to be part of the prank, not the victim of it.
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Prank the person who falls asleep first. The first person to fall asleep is an easy target for pranks since the rest of the crew can all join in on them. If you’re feeling even more mischievous, wait for another person to fall asleep to pull a double prank. Be very quiet during the prank, or your victim might wake up.^{[12]
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- If you’re doing a prank that involves their body (face writing, ankle tying, soapy toes) be very very gentle to not wake them up.
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Prank someone not at your sleepover. If you think your friend may get upset by being the butt of your pranking jokes, choose to prank someone else. This keeps you from having to explain anything to your friends (or their parents) in the morning.
- This mostly works with prank calls, but you can also prank other people living in your house, like siblings, parents, and relatives.
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Keep your pranks a secret to have the element of surprise. If you tell everyone that you’re planning pranks for the sleepover, your friends might not want to fall asleep. Plus, pranks aren’t as funny when everyone’s expecting them.
- Either tell no one about your prank plans or just tell one or two people who you know will love being in on the fun.
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Avoid pranks that are damaging, hurtful, or have lasting effects. Pranks are most fun when everyone’s having fun, so make sure nothing you do will hurt someone or their property. Also, be respectful of the space you’re in.^{[13]
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Research source} Pulling pranks can also end up damaging the house you’re staying in and get you or your friends in trouble.
- This means avoiding some classic pranks. Egging or TPing someone’s house or car can take a long time to clean up and can make the prankee pretty upset.
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Let others prank you sometimes (or prank yourself). 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.

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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?

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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.

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You can also prank everyone EXCEPT one person, then everyone will believe that they are responsible for the mischief.

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If you want to draw suspicion away from you, act like someone else pranked you, too. You could pour a glass of water over your head, then wake up your friends saying that someone just pranked you. People are less likely to suspect you if you're a victim.

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For prank calls, hit *67 first so the number can't be traced. Also, turn the phone on private so no one knows it’s you.
- Help your friends clean up any mess in the morning!
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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.

Don't use a permanent marker when drawing on someone's face, but when you wake them up grab a permanent marker to make them think it was permanent. This adds an extra layer to the prank.
Make sure that the pranks don't result in someone getting hurt. You should always make sure everyone understands that the pranks are just pranks to avoid feelings getting hurt.
Don't do a prank revealing any private information or secrets. It's more mean than funny.

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