Every year the leprechauns target us with their pranks.  They have turned our milk green, left green footprints and turned the toilet water green.   We have been trying to capture a leprechaun on St. Patrick's Day for years but we have never been successful.

This year is going to be different because we have built the perfect leprechaun trap.  We also have a coffee can version and a trap made with printable templates.

Materials:

• square kleenex box
• green paint
• paint brush
• glitter glue, markers or crayons to decorate the box
• scissors
• kleenex
• green contrustion paper.
   
• Optional: hole punch
• light cardboard (like a cereal box)
• glue 
• bait (we suggest Skittles, chocolate gold coins or marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal.)

Instructions:

• Remove any of the plastic from the hole at the top of the kleenex box.  Paint the outside of the box green.
• Let dry.
• Decorate your box with glitter glue, drawings or print some of the shamrock or rainbow templates below and glue them to the outside of the box.  If you print the black & white templates you can color them yourself before you glue them to the box.
• lightly crumple a few pieces of Kleenex in the bottom of the box to make a cushion so the leprechaun will not get hurt when falling into the trap. 

• Cut a piece of Kleenex just large enough to cover the hole.
• Use a little bit of glue at the four corners of the Kleenex to hold it in place.
     
• Use the hole punch and the green construction paper to create green confetti.
• If you do not have a hole punch you can use a scissor to chop the contruction paper into small pieces.
• Use the confetti or chopped up construction paper to carefully cover the kleenex that is covering the hole so that it is hidden.
• Print the ladder template and color it if you used the black and white version.
• Glue the template onto a piece of light construction paper (like a cereal box) before you cut it out.
• Cut out the two pieces of the ladder template.
• Glue the straight piece onto the rungs on the other template piece to create your ladder.
• Set your trap the night before St. Patrick's Day!
• Put the box somewhere you think the leprechaun is most likely to see it.
• Lean the ladder against the box so the leprechaun has a way to the top. 
     
• Carefully place the bait at the centre of the top of the box.  Skittles, marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal or chocolate gold coins would make great bait but you can use whatever you think leprechauns might like most.
• Go to bed. 
• If you get lucky you will find a leprechaun in your trap the next morning.

Template for decorations       (color)   or   (B&W)

Template for rainbows           (color)   or   (B&W)

Template for shamrocks        (color)   or   (B&W)

Template for ladder                (color)   or   (B&W)