It's pretty natural, but it makes it have a humorous tone. The past tense should be lay. "My friends lay in wait for me in the kitchen and when I went there they surprised me with my birthday cake." To lie in wait is often used with animals that are hunting/stalking prey. Example: The crocodile lay in wait in the river, until the gazelle went for a drink of water, then it lunged at it. It also implies that the person is lying down or close to the ground. So in the case of lying in wait in the kitchen, maybe the friends are hiding in weird places, such as under a table. In that context, this would be natural. Hide would be natural too.

Yes, that's how you use it but it should be "laid in wait". https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/lay