A DIY leprechaun trap your kids will actually play with

When my oldest son was in first grade, his class crafted DIY leprechaun traps during school on a Friday afternoon. For Saint Patrick’s day the following Monday, his teacher planted little green footprints around the room and left a mischievous note from the leprechaun who had escaped their traps. The kids went bonkers as they shuffled into the room and discovered the evidence he’d left behind.

Now that my youngest is in first grade, I figured it was time to recreate the magic by making our own leprechaun trap at home. While there are a billion ways to craft one, I was inspired by the trip trap version from What’s Up Moms. I put my own spin on it to include chocolate coins, a DIY cauldron for the pot of gold, and decorations that mostly rely on construction paper.

_{Photo source: Motherly Photography / Angela Elias}

Leprechaun trap supplies

Here’s everything I used for my leprechaun trap:

• Empty box that’s large enough to fit a tissue box inside (I used a box for kitchen garbage bags)
• Empty tissue box
• String for the pulley system (you can use any kind of string, even dental floss!)
• Mini terracotta pot
• Black spray paint
• Two bags of chocolate coins*
• Construction paper
• White cardstock paper (for welcome banner)
• Markers
• Gold glitter glue
• Tape or glue stick
• Glue gun
• Cotton balls

*The only place I could find chocolate coins readily available was at Target. They’re technically Easter themed since one side features a bunny and the other features a dollar sign, but I just flipped them so that the dollar sign faces up.

Step-by-step instructions

If you can’t find a mini cauldron for the pot of gold, you can buy a mini terracotta pot and just spray paint it black. I found a set of two for a dollar at the Dollar Tree. It takes a while for the paint to dry and the fumes to wear off, so I’d recommend going outside to do this step first. 

Next, get creative with decorating your larger box. I taped light green construction paper to the sides and top of the box and cut shamrock shapes out of dark green construction paper. 

On one side, I drew a rainbow with markers and glued cotton ball clouds with a hot glue gun.

For the welcome sign at the top of the box, I used white cardstock paper, a black marker, and gold glitter glue.

For the inside of the box, I taped sky blue construction paper to the interior walls and my first grader created a stone path and grass with construction paper and markers.

Once the box is decorated, cut off the top of your tissue box so that it creates a hollow structure for the trap.

With a screwdriver or a pair of scissors, poke a hole through the top of your tissue box, thread the string through it and create a large knot so that the tissue box can hang from the string.

Poke two holes in the larger box, one hole in the top center and the other on the side towards the bottom. I lined up the bottom hole with the top hole.

Next, thread your string that holds your tissue box through the top hole and the side hole in the larger box.

If the paint is dry on your mini pot, stuff a paper towel in the bottom and pour your chocolate coins on top. If you can’t find chocolate coins, you can throw in loose change or even coat some small rocks in gold spray paint.

To set the trap, pull your string so that your tissue box is pressed against the ceiling of your larger box and anchor it with your pot of gold.

Now you’re ready to test your trap! Invite kids to see what happens when they remove the pot of gold and watch their faces as the tissue box comes flying down.

For Saint Patrick’s Day and beyond

My kids are having a blast pranking grandparents, after-school friends, and any other unsuspecting guests with this trap. While intended for leprechauns, every small action figure and toy that fits has also had a turn getting trapped under the tissue box. It’s a cheap and fairly easy project for leveraging art and STEM skills. Pair it with How to Catch a Leprechaun: A Saint Patrick’s Book For Kids for an extra dose of fun.

source https://www.mother.ly/shop/learn-play-shop/an-easy-diy-leprechaun-trap/