Clever Leprechaun Tricks to Play on Kids this St. Patrick's Day

It’s that time of year again when those little leprechauns are on the loose and leprechaun tricks abound! Why not take advantage of the silly leprechaun shenanigans and make some fun St. Patrick’s Day memories with the kids?

I’ve gathered the ultimate list of easy but oh-so-fun leprechaun tricks and pranks that are sure to become treasured St. Patrick’s Day family traditions you and your kids will look forward to each year.

40 Super-Fun Leprechaun Tricks for St. Patrick’s Day

Whether painting leprechaun footprints all over the house or turning the milk in the fridge magically green, these silly St. Patricks-themed leprechaun tricks are sure to bring a smile to your child’s face on St. Patrick’s Day morning.

Pick a few pranks to play on your kids or try a bunch; any effort you put into making your kids’ St. Patrick’s Day fun and memorable will be worth it in the long run. Let’s check ’em out…

Leprechaun Trap Tricks

1. Leprechaun Traps
Build a leprechaun trap using recycled materials, arts and craft supplies, and household objects (e.g., shoe boxes, popsicle sticks, paper plates, or bowls). Then, set it up the night before St. Patrick’s Day. No matter how you build your leprechaun trap, remember to put something shiny inside to lure that mischievous leprechaun.

2. Trap Tampering & Treasures
After the kids are off to sleep, tamper a bit with their leprechaun trap to make it look like the leprechaun visited but escaped. Then, leave some St. Patrick’s Day candy inside or around the failed leprechaun trap for even more magic.

3. Lucky Leprechaun Messages
Write teasing messages from the lucky leprechaun (like “You can’t catch me!” and “See you next year.”) on a mirror. Use a green window marker or washable paint stick, or use letter magnets on the refrigerator door.

St. Patrick’s Day Pranks for Heavy Sleepers

4. Leprechaun Mustache Prank
If you have a heavy sleeper, draw a green or black leprechaun mustache on their upper lip with a washable face paint stick or kid-friendly makeup. Or, stick a fake mustache on their lip!

5. Sticker Tattoos
Stick St. Patrick’s Day-themed stickers on your child’s arms or face while they are asleep. Then, when they wake up, tell them that crazy leprechaun gave them tattoos.

6. Ribbons & Bows
Add green ribbons, hair bows, or barrettes to your child’s hair while they are sleeping.

7. Green Hair Prank
After your child is asleep, use washable hair chalk, hair color wax, or hair color spray to turn some or all of their hair green.

8. St. Patrick’s Day Nail Polish
While your child is asleep, paint their fingernails or toenails with green nail polish.

Fun Food Leprechaun Tricks

9. Magical Green Milk
Add a few drops of green food coloring to the milk in the fridge. Then, watch the kids giggle when green milk pours out onto their cereal on St. Patrick’s Day morning.

10. Cereal Switcheroo
Switch the bags of cereal inside the cereal boxes. When they pour out their cereal in the morning, they will be surprised that it doesn’t match what’s on the box!

11. Lucky Charms without the Charm
Before the kids wake up, take all of the marshmallows out of the Lucky Charms cereal. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, leave only the marshmallows in the cereal box. (You don’t even have to sort them out; you can buy just the marshmallows online!)

12. Green Eggs & Pancakes
Add green food coloring to your pancake batter and scrambled eggs for a magically green St. Patrick’s Day breakfast.

13. Magic Green Ice Cubes
Use green food coloring to make green ice cubes in the freezer. Or, for extra fun, replace a full tray of regular cubes with a full tray of green ones so it looks like the leprechaun’s magic turned them all green.

14. More Green Food Fun
Gather green foods (e.g., green apples, cucumber slices, broccoli) or foods with green-colored packaging (e.g., Healthy Snaps Green Pea Snack Crisps, GoGo squeeZ Applesauce Pouches). Then, set up a Green Food Taste Testing activity (with the free printable).

Leprechaun Tricks with Clothes & Shoes

15. Rainbow Closet Surprise
Fill the kids’ closet with balloons in rainbow colors or in all green and gold. Then, when they open the doors, a rainbow of balloons will spill out!

16. Shoelace Switch
Switch the shoelaces in your child’s shoes with green shoelaces. If you don’t have green shoelaces, use green string or ribbon instead.

17. ~~Pot~~ Shoes of Gold
Fill the kids’ shoes with gold chocolate coins. For even more St. Patrick’s Day magic, hang a rainbow of crepe paper streamers above the shoes so that they are the “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow.

18. Inside-Out Clothes
Turn your child’s clothing inside out and put it back in their closet or dresser drawers.

19. St. Patrick’s Pet Fun
Place a leprechaun hat or St. Patrick’s Day-themed bandana or necktie on your pet dog or cat.

20. Mismatched Shoes Trick
Switch your family’s shoes around so that they are in mismatched pairs.

Mischievous Leprechaun Footprints

21. Leprechaun Tracks to Treasure
Grab these printable leprechaun footprints and use them make tracks throughout the house to a “pot of gold” filled with gold chocolate coins or other St. Patrick’s Day treats.

22. Painted Leprechaun Footprint Trail
Use washable green paint to paint a trail of leprechaun footprints on the kitchen counter or dining room table leading to breakfast or treats the leprechaun hid.

23. Sidewalk Chalk Footprints
Use green sidewalk chalk to draw leprechaun footprints outside along the sidewalk or paved driveway.

Silly Shamrock Shenanigans

24. St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt
Write clues on paper shamrock cutouts to set up a kids scavenger hunt that ends at “pot of gold” filled with gold chocolate coins or other treats.

25. Shamrock Hide & Seek
Hide paper or foam shamrocks around the house for your kids to find. For extra excitement, have the kids turn in each shamrock for a gold chocolate coin.

26. Toy Shamrocks
Line up small toys or household objects (e.g., shoes, toy cars, crayons) in shamrock shapes.

St. Patrick’s Day Bathroom Pranks

27. Green Toilet Water
Use green food coloring to turn the toilet water green. Then, add two painted leprechaun footprints on the toilet seat for extra giggles.

28. Leprechaun Mirror Fun
Use a window marker or washable paint stick to draw a mustache and top hat on the bathroom mirror. Then, when your child looks in it, they will look like a leprechaun.

29. Green Bath Prank
Place a green fizzy bath drops inside the bathtub faucet so the water turns green as you fill the bathtub.

30. Bathtub Balloons
Fill the bathtub with balloons in rainbow colors or in all green and gold. Then close the shower curtain so your child gets a surprise when they open it for bathtime.

Leprechaun Tricks with Toys

31. Green Toy Fun
Scatter your child’s green toys around the playroom or the house. Then, tell your kiddo the leprechaun must have been playing and left a big mess.

32. Building Blocks
Sort out your child’s green wooden blocks or LEGOs. Then, stack them or build something with them.

33. Doll Dress-Up
Dress your child’s baby doll in green doll clothes. If you don’t have green doll clothes, add St. Patrick’s Day stickers to the doll’s clothes instead.

34. Missing Art Supplies
Remove the green crayons, markers, and colored pencils from their boxes. Then, place them in unusual places around the house, like inside the silverware drawer or the toothbrush holder.

35. Rainbow Arrangements
Arrange your child’s books or toys (e.g., stuffed animals, actions figures) in rainbow order.

More Leprechaun Tricks Around the House

36. Rainbow Doorway Breakthrough
Tape crepe paper streamers in rainbow colors across your child’s bedroom door. When they wake up, they will have to break through the “rainbow” to come out.

37. Googly Eyes Everywhere
Stick self-adhesive googly eyes on household objects, such a on drinking cups, the remote control, or on the eyes of people in framed family portraits.

38. Upside-Down Furniture
Turn furniture and other household items upside down (e.g., dining room chairs, couch cushions, coffee table).

39. Leprechaun Mustache Mischief
Use a dry erase marker or window marker to draw mustaches on people in framed family portraits.

40. Green Light Laughs
Switch the light bulbs in lamps or light fixtures to green light bulbs.

Good Luck & Have a Fun St. Patty’s Day!

There you have it, my fellow St. Patrick’s Day fans… a huge list of super-fun leprechaun tricks and pranks sure to bring mischief and lots of laughs to your family this March 17th.

Now, do you know any leprechaun tricks or St. Patrick’s Day pranks to add to the list? Share them in the comments below.

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