Sibling Reunions

Summer breaks from school are always ... well, unique experiences. For instance, if you spend your first summer break at home, it may be slow and torturous. Perhaps your second summer break is devoted to studying abroad, and your third summer is full and busied by an ever-so-exciting internship. As for your fourth summer break ... let’s just not go there.

While the structure of each three-month break may vary, there’s usually one constant: You’re gonna see your parents and, inevitably, your siblings. Once your tolerance for brotherly and sisterly love is spent, why not use your pent-up aggravation in a creative way with these new twists on old pranks -- with sibling targets in mind.

(Note: If you happen to be an only child, just use these tips against your best friends. And if you’re lucky enough to go to school with any of your siblings, then who says the fun has to stop at summer?)

The Fake Letter
I like writing these from colleges. Start with the letterhead. Google image search your sib’s college, find an official crest, and align that at the top of your document. Looks sharp.

Time for the meat of the letter: Maybe make it about how a “computer error” in the Academic Affairs Office rendered a couple of classes from last semester useless, or how an “accounting glitch” has resulted in a mandatory $5,000 charge being placed on his or her financial statement. Make sure you pepper it with a bunch of administrative jargon, assuring that “these mistakes happen on a routine basis,” and include a number to call (of a local Burger King, duh) with any further questions.

Finally, sign it. Something like Cynthia M. Felton-Bulstrode, Assistant Administrative Director. Once the letter is complete, send it in the mail -- then just sit back, and watch your sib freak. Until he dials that BK number.

Alterations: You can apply the fake letter to any situation: a jealous note from a psycho ex, a prestigious internship invitation from a big company impressed by your sibling’s academic record. Get creative!

The Prank Call
Unless you have a great knack for voice impressions, prank-calling your family members can be a little tricky. Chances are they know your voice ... and if they don't after 20 years, I don’t know what to tell you. Anyway, for those of you who aren’t too great with the classic prank call (like yours truly), there are lots of ways to get around it.

My new favorite is a little app called “Caller ID Faker,” available for iPhones and Droids. While I hate to give away my secrets, Caller ID Faker not only allows you to call your friends and make it seem like it’s coming from another phone number, but you can disguise your voice as either a man (what the killer from Scream 4 probably sounds like) or a woman (a really cranky old grandmother). The app also comes with the ability to record any prank calls you make, which means afterward you can sit around and get more giggles as the message plays back to you.

Alterations: This app gives you free rein to call anyone from any number. So have fun with it -- but don’t do anything too over-the-top.

The Jell-O Trick
Ahhh, “The Office.” It’s taught me so much: how to slack off at my corporate internships; how to use “That’s what she said” in the right context; how to play the incredible timewaster Dunderball; and, of course, how to encase peoples’ personal belongings in Jell-O molds.

So I borrow a little trickery from Jim Halpert with this one, but instead of coagulating in Jell-O your brother’s ruler or sister’s calculator, what about something a little more entertaining? Like her brand-new cell phone? Or a glistening iPod?

OK, so you probably shouldn’t be that cruel. But think of something that will make them freak out as badly as when Dwight found his stapler buried in the jiggly green stuff. Like car keys.

Alterations: Place the object inside a similarly sticky marshmallow substance. That’d be fun.

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/kyolshin -letter