10 easy, cute leprechaun traps you can make with kids for St. Patrick's Day

Making leprechaun traps has become more and more popular in the last few years.

Kids may be content to sleep through Santa's visit, but they're determined to catch any mischief-making leprechauns who dare to enter their house.

What is supposed to happen with a leprechaun trap?

According to legend, if you catch a leprechaun on the night before St. Patrick's Day (March 17), the leprechaun will grant you three wishes.

But how to trap these little tricksters? Some leprechaun traps can be extremely elaborate, but some are very simple. All you need is some construction paper, scissors and glue to trick any leprechaun that enters your house!

A tasty leprechaun trap

Content creator Amanda, better known as @woodenthatbesomethin on Instagram, decided to take it easy this year. She filled a clear plastic disposable cup with Lucky Charms, closed the lid and turned it upside down. If you don't manage to catch a leprechaun, at least you'll still have a snack waiting for you!

A crafty leprechaun trap

Jackie Lindsay of @sewbrightcreations had a crafty idea for her trap. She decorated a small cardboard box, make a ladder out of rainbow popsicle sticks and attempted to lure the leprechaun with shiny craft gems. Will it fool a tiny green mischief maker?

A sparkly leprechaun trap

Kathy and Jody of @sugarpiepaper created a trap that looks fancier than it is. After all, a little glitter goes a long way!

They used construction paper to create a rainbow tunnel that leads to a tiny pot of "gold." This trap is all about the presentation. Artfully placed glitter, sprinkles and gems give this trap a "wow" effect.

A high-end leprechaun trap

Kristen Sellentin (@kristensellentin) on Instagram managed to make a few supplies look extremely upscale. Almost everything here can be purchased online and put together in minutes.

A dollar store delight leprechaun trap

Liz, who goes by @themrsrodgers on TikTok, pulled together an outstanding, easy-to-make leprechaun trap with just a few supplies from a dollar store. With just construction paper, pipe cleaners and some gold bait, you may be able to trap a leprechaun under this jaunty green hat.

Low-mess leprechaun trap

Debbie Chapman of TikTok's @onelittleproject managed to make an adorable leprechaun trap with a tissue box and supplies you likely have laying around your home.

A clever box leprechaun trap

In this TikTok video, Jackie Linn (@jackielinn227) revealed the leprechaun trap her daughter made for school. She covered a cardboard box with wrapping paper, propping up a flap with a craft stick. Gold coins and rainbow string lights will hopefully lure a leprechaun into the trap.

An obstacle course leprechaun trap

Ashley Murphy (@ashleymurphyfamily on TikTok) created an elaborate "American Ninja Warrior" style obstacle course for any leprechaun who visits her home.

She explained in the caption: "We save all kinds of boxes, containers, toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls, plus add in all of the sparkles, gold, and rainbows to try to catch those sneaky little guys!"

Tween and teen leprechaun traps

Leprechaun traps are especially popular for elementary-school kids, but tweens and teens have fun with them, too — especially if you set it up as a challenge.

You can set a budget, bring them to a craft supply store, give them a set amount of time and see what kind of trap the lucky winner constructs.

Zaira Boncayao Monzon (@zairamonzonez) created quite an intricate trap in this TikTok video.

The easiest leprechaun trap

Intimidated by leprechaun trap tutorials, even when they're labeled as being "simple?" Good news: many craft stores sell complete leprechaun trap kits. All the glitter, stickers, punch-outs and mischief are included.

And you can even show your kids videos like this one by Caytlin Dyan (@itscaytlindyan on TikTok) to help them assemble it.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com