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The leprechaun, a tiny elf from Irish folklore, is said to love gold coins, shamrocks, rainbows and anything green. According to legend, if a human succeeds in catching one of these little green legends, the leprechaun will grant you three wishes, or even give you their pot of gold. Building leprechaun traps for St. Patrick’s Day wraps a STEM lesson and a fun activity into a family tradition. Once the trap is set, delight your kids with leprechaun tricks around the house and then celebrate with treats!
Leprechaun hat s’mores
This sweet treat brings marshmallows, cookies and melted chocolate together to create adorable, edible leprechaun hats. The Cake Blog has all the info you’ll need to create these impressive goodies, sure to be gobbled down at your St. Patrick’s Day gathering.
Leprechaun slide trap
Kids will love making this fun trap with plenty of sparkly gold and a fun slide. The leprechaun climbs up, goes down the slide and is caught in the hat trap at the bottom. Set yours up today and see what you catch! Lisa at Fun Money Mom has all the details you’ll need.
Leprechaun bite cookies
These tiny and delicious shortbread cookies are just the thing to tempt a leprechaun into your trap, and you’ll likely want to eat a handful (or two) as well! Nikki at Seeded at the Table shares her tips and tricks to making these yummy little St. Patrick’s Day treats.
Rainbow leprechaun trap
Pauline of the Club Chica Circle blog created this bright rainbow trap out of colored craft sticks. We especially love the candy steps that will surely lure a leprechaun into the trap! Check out the blog post for her super easy instructions to make your own.
Shamrock leprechaun trap
Dinah of the DIY Inspired blog made a beautiful trap with her daughter. What leprechaun could resist the gold coins, rainbows and shamrocks? When they run under the box to get the chocolate gold coins, the box will fall and trap the little trickster.
Rainbow cupcakes — gold coin included!
Could these rainbow cupcakes from Baking a Moment be any more beautiful? The whole family will “ooh” and “ahh” over the rainbow-striped frosting and decadent chocolate sponge. If you want to impress this year, these are the treats to make.
Fruity rainbow
This idea from San Diego Cooks features strawberries, clementines, pineapple, green grapes, blackberries and purple grapes, making it a lovely rainbow centerpiece for your St. Patrick’s Day table. Mini marshmallows form clouds on one end, and sliced bananas are a leprechaun’s loot on the other end.
Rainbow rice treasure box
For kids who love to dig for treasure, this sensory activity is a terrific option for St. Patrick’s Day — or any time! Hide gold coins, shamrocks and other treasure items in rainbow-colored rice. Head on over to the Modern Parents Messy Kids blog for instructions.
St. Patrick’s Day popcorn balls
For a lucky snack, try these St. Patrick’s Day popcorn balls. Ashlyn of the Belle of the Kitchen blog dressed up regular popcorn balls by adding marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal. She adds another special ingredient to cook up this deliciousness, but you’ll have to read her blog post to discover her secret.
Lucky leprechaun treats
Need a goodie bag idea for a St. Patrick’s Day party or school function? Check out these lucky leprechaun treats from My Turn for Us. Easy to put together and full of leprechaun charm, kids will feel lucky when they find the pots of gold under the rainbows in these packages!
Copycat Shamrock Shake
If you and your family enjoy Shamrock Shakes from McDonald’s in March each year, here’s a way to make this yummy treat at home. Moms Need to Know offers a great copycat recipe. Not only is it less expensive to make the shakes at home, the recipe has only five ingredients and none of them are mysterious.
Leprechaun tracks
When night falls and your little ones sleep, the mischief-making leprechauns are everywhere! Finding leprechaun footprints in places where those tiny shoemakers created chaos will delight the kids. Krissy of the B-Inspired Mama blog shows you how to make the prints — just be sure to use washable paint!
Last-minute St. Patrick’s Day fun
Even if you barely have time to read this article, you can pull off one or two of these last-minute St. Patrick’s Day tricks or treats! The Events to Celebrate blog has lots of ideas for a mini celebration. From turning the house topsy-turvy to creating a leprechaun treasure box, this blog post offers lots of inspiration.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published several years ago, and updated most recently in March 2025 by Kari Hanson, ParentMap’s associate editor, with new tricks and a thorough fact-check.
