Pulling Pranks for Christmas

My husband and I have been together for eight Christmases and we have started some pretty cool Christmas traditions. We like to do a nativity,  see Christmas lights, play our instruments, cook something new and put all the decorations away as soon as possible. (The longer they're out, the shabbier they get.) We also pull pranks on my in-laws nearly every year and is it ever fun! You'd think they'd un-invite us by now, huh? They must secretly like it.

Bananas for Mistletoe

Living room nativity

Some people play tricks on April Fools but not us. We do December Fools. That doesn't mean vandalizing nativities. It just means fun. The first year, nobody saw it coming. Not even us. It was a moment of spontaneous inspiration when we sent a company of green army men to attack the Christmas village. The next year, Barbie dolls joined the nativity set, with teacups. Three years in and we were running out of ideas so we stuffed a pair of my hubby's jeans and built the dummy. We put him on the living room couch and covered him with a blanket. All that night and all the next morning, people were tip-toeing around and wondering who could be sleeping in their house. It was brilliant. Best prank ever.

Year four and we had no ideas and did nothing. That was sort of a prank since they were expecting one. Year five, the Grinch came to pilfer, plunder and purloin, but got caught in a Grinch trap and had to hang out there until morning. We have bubble-wrapped their bathroom, hung bananas where the mistletoe should be and hidden a cardboard Jedi in the shower. (We wished we'd had a creepy mannequin.)

In order to continue this glorious tradition, we have to have some rules.

Rules for pranking.

   1. No damage.
   2. No injury.
   3. No feud.

The "no feud" part means we avoid causing anger and this ensures we get to come back next year and do it again. The point is just to make them laugh and we have a good time. We don't want to embarrass anyone break anything.

This year, we decided on a gag gift. My mother-in-law loves snowmen so we gave her Frosty in a box. Here are his affects. And arms.

Unfortunately, he didn't make it. We tried to "preserve" his memory but couldn't find the canning kit.

A reindeer ate part of his nose. :(  We wrote him an epitaph, explaining how he died saving Grandma from being run over by a reindeer. That must be why she loves snowmen so much.

It was a sad day for Frosty, but a happy one for us (he did promise to "come back again someday").

 Seven years married, six Christmas pranks so far. Let's hope there are many more to come. What are some pranks you have done? I need some good ideas.