Plan a Leprechaun Visit

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Leprechaun
My little leprechaun

Looking for something fun to do with your kids this St. Patrick’s Day?  Plan a visit from a leprechaun!  When I was teaching, one of my favorite traditions was having a leprechaun come visit our classroom.  Now that I stay at home, I couldn’t help but bring this same tradition to my family.  The idea is simple: when your child wakes up on St. Patrick’s Day morning, they will discover a leprechaun has been causing mischief throughout their home, and may have even left them a special surprise!

There are many ways to make this happen and you can find fun ideas all over Pinterest and the blog world.  A leprechaun visit can range in complexity from a simple “pot of gold” and note, to more detailed treasure hunts, so just do whatever works best for your family.  Here are a few ideas to get you started, but be creative and you might find that you enjoy getting to be a mischievous little green man!

– Leave green footprints around the house ~ Use washable green paints, or cut out green prints from paper, and leave them throughout the house to show where the leprechaun went. Here’s a cute idea for how to make leprechaun footprints with your hand.  You can also scatter green confetti or green glitter in various places to show where the leprechaun went, as long as you don’t mind a bit of a mess.

*Note – I did not have any problems wiping up our green footprints, but make sure to test your paint on an area first!

Footprints
Our leprechaun danced across the window!
More footprints leading to the green milk in the fridge!
More footprints leading to the green milk in the fridge!

 

– Create a mess ~ Since leprechauns are known to be a bit mischievous, create a little mischief around your house.  You don’t need to go crazy (especially since you’ll probably be doing the majority of the clean up), but a few overturned chairs and misplaced items are good for some laughs and giggles.

Fixing his overturned chair before enjoying his special breakfast
Fixing his overturned chair before enjoying his special breakfast

– Provide a special breakfast from the leprechaun ~ Lucky Charms with some green milk make a yummy treat for a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast.  For a healthier option, make some green eggs or shamrock shaped pancakes.

 

Enjoying some Lucky Charms and green milk
Enjoying some Lucky Charms and green milk

 

– Leave a leprechaun note ~ Don’t forget to leave a special note from your leprechaun! If you decide to make this a yearly tradition, the same leprechaun can come back and visit your family each year.  Our leprechaun left a note in the morning explaining that he came to visit us (very helpful for the first visit especially), and then another after nap with his treasure hunt clues.

 

– Even leprechauns have to use the bathroom! ~ When I saw this idea,  I just knew I had to try it.  I’m pretty sure I found it more amusing than my son, but the look on his face when he discovered green water in the toilet was pretty darn cute.

 

That silly leprechaun!
That silly leprechaun!

– Build a leprechaun trap ~ We have not tried a leprechaun trap yet, but now that he is expecting the leprechaun to come back (he told us he would in his letter last year), I can’t wait to try it.  This provides a great opportunity for some problem solving and engineering skills from your little one!

 

– Plan a treasure hunt ~ As a child, I absolutely loved going on treasure hunts.  My sister and I would take turns writing out clues for each other and then searching for our “treasure.”  The anticipation of following clues to find something, no matter how small, is just so exciting.  We did a rainbow treasure hunt last year, where each clue was a different color in the rainbow, and at the end of the rainbow was his pot of gold.  Keep it simple, or go all out.  If you’re feeling especially ambitious, try writing your clues as limericks! Or better yet, save yourself from time and simply print out a treasure hunt from online!

 

Finding his yellow clue on the yellow tee
Finding his yellow clue on the yellow tee

 

– Find a pot of gold! ~ The best part of a leprechaun visit is of course the pot of gold! Fill a small container with some gold candy, fake gold coins, or a small toy or prize.  It doesn’t need to be anything fancy or expensive, your child will love it simply because it was delivered by a leprechaun!

Mmmm...gold!
Mmmm…gold!

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