Christmas might be a time for sentimentality and love and all that gushy goodness, but it can also be a time for unbridled antics. After all, it’s the one time of year when our inner child spirit is supposed to come alive, right? Some people’s inner child just happens to be a bit mischievous.
Singer Judy Louie Brown falls into this category with her hilarious, meticulous and downright diabolical prank played on her dad involving some delightful Ferrero Rocher chocolates…and brussels sprouts.
As Brown shared on X, formerly Twitter, that in 2012 she came up with an “ingenious” way to wind up her dad, something described as her “favorite pastime.”
Brown’s plan was simple: unwrap the chocolates. Wrap Brussels sprouts in the chocolate package. Close the box. And then play “the waiting game.”
Though Brown didn’t divulge her father’s reaction to unwrapping a cruciferous veg in a place of smooth creamy chocolate, it’s safe to say that the prank was a success. In fact, dad was so “spooked” that the next year he wouldn’t touch a Ferrero Rocher. Which is fine, because Brown had bigger plans in store.
“I decided to play the long game & didn’t tamper with the confectionary: spooked by the year before, he would not touch a single Ferrero Rocher (which was great because he usually inhales them at 750mph) so there were Ferreros aplenty for the rest of us. I bided my time,” she wrote on X.
Cut to two years later, Brown has “the devil at her elbow” as she reveals her “most audacious sprout prank yet.”
Her post is accompanied with a photo of some Ferrero Rochers, brussel sprouts, a bar of chocolate and a bag of mixed nuts.
And so, yesterday, home for Christmas and with the devil at my elbow, I embarked on my most audacious sprout prank yet. pic.twitter.com/zr24u6Ve0g
— Judy Louie Brown (@mcjude) December 25, 2018
“While he was out I dipped the sprouts in chocolate, rolled them in chopped hazelnuts, and did all I could to replicate the iconic Ferrero,” she wrote, adding, “I re-wrapped and (this is crucial) re-sealed the box with its original tape and a tiny dab of glue. Then secreted it amongst a bag of tasty gifts from my Aunt and retired to watch from afar.”
Thank goodness Brown uses her intellect for dad pranks and not crime.
While he was out I dipped the sprouts in chocolate, rolled them in chopped hazelnuts, and did all I could to replicate the iconic Ferrerro. pic.twitter.com/UgvLOXeXWJ
— Judy Louie Brown (@mcjude) December 25, 2018
I re-wrapped and (this is crucial) re-sealed the box with its original tape and a tiny dab of glue. Then secreted it amongst a bag of tasty gifts from my Aunt and retired to watch from afar pic.twitter.com/hkIThpvByI
— Judy Louie Brown (@mcjude) December 25, 2018
Of course, dad was still suspicious at first, and only viewed the bag on Christmas Eve. But then on Christmas morning, he couldn’t resist. After all, “He quite likes a post-brekkie Ferrero.”
Brown waited in the kitchen, trying to avoid “spooking” him. In here words, here’s what happened:
I am still chuckling. I will all day long. I know his retribution will be swift and terrible, but no Christmas gift could be greater than this: seeing my Dad, despite his efforts to avoid it, unwittingly eat a raw sprout. Merry Christmas, one and all. pic.twitter.com/RYV6pvYqbe
— Judy Louie Brown (@mcjude) December 25, 2018
“He EXAMINED. He unwrapped. He examined FURTHER. Fears allayed, he popped the whole thing in his mouth. His face played a symphony of emotions: satisfaction, triumph, smugness, consternation, confusion, realization, horror, disgust.”
On Dec 12, Brown shared that the Brussels sprouts saga has endured as a holiday tradition that she describes as “an even-sided conflict, with both resorting to greater nefariousness & descending to even more underhand deception each year.” For example, when Brown hid the sprouts on her father’s toothpaste one year, he apparently retaliated by filling her bedsheets with them.
More recently, Brown showed eager readers how she managed to sneak them into packaged mince pies.
Success – like a bomb disposal expert I got the top off in one so I could scoop out the mincemeat (the very taste of Christmassy intrigue and subterfuge) pic.twitter.com/HNj9itd6Nu
— Judy Louie Brown (@mcjude) December 26, 2021
Then I added the stars of the show; they’re quite small ones and nestled in neatly. Sleep well, little sprouts. Your time will come. pic.twitter.com/96zueUnXpc
— Judy Louie Brown (@mcjude) December 26, 2021
I carefully replaced the lid, covered the gaps with a bit of sugar, & hid it back in the box with its non-sprouty friends to lie in wait. And o what a wait! He didn’t go for them on Christmas Day! I couldn’t be seen to push anything – the suspicion was too great. I bided my time. pic.twitter.com/CSoDLShXmU
— Judy Louie Brown (@mcjude) December 26, 2021
With each new hilarious idea Brown comes up with, she earns her online moniker of “evil genius.”
Maybe it’s okay to be a little naughty for Christmas, especially when it brings such intense joy.