When the cat’s away, the mice will play. And when someone on my team goes on vacation, they get pranked.

It’s become sort of a tradition to have some sort of shenanigans awaiting anyone who is returning from vacation. I’ve had rice in my drawer and Saran wrap around every item in my cubicle, and last week, we filled a coworker’s cubicle up with balloons.

Next week, my coworker Ryen will be going to Hawaii. I had what I thought was a genius idea: turn his cubicle into island paradise (complete with beach sand) so that when he returned to work he could pretend he was still on Maui. On lunch, Bob and I visited a local party supply store to see what we could get to put the prank in motion. We found limitless island-esque items that would be perfect for a luau, but the decorations proved to be expensive.

After looking around awhile, we decided that this was NOT going to be a worthwhile prank due to cost (breathe your sigh of relief, Ryen). We wandered around the store for awhile, trying to come up with an idea that wouldn’t be so financially tasking, but didn’t really come up with much.

And that’s when I saw them.

Tucked in a corner of the store were all these display setups. It looked like photography sets in a studio. We guessed that the equipment must be for rent to use as props at dances and weddings and such. For some reason, I was struck with a sudden desire to pose in the different displays. It felt like cheating, like using a backdrop meant for paying customers and getting myself photographed for free, but I did it anyway. Handing over my iPhone, I posed next to the sets while Bob snapped pictures of me.

This one made me think of a school dance:

This one was more wedding-y:

We left the store empty-handed, but I had my fantastic photos safely stored on my phone.

I don’t know if we’ll actually pull a prank on Ryen or not. The whole thing seems to have lost its appeal to me. The hijinks are expected now. Maybe it’s time to throw in the towel and give up pranking for good.

You know, unless I get a really great idea before he comes back to work.