Free Printable Leprechaun Trap Signs for St. Patrick’s Day
These free printable signs are perfect for decorating a DIY leprechaun trap! You will be sure to trick a sneaky leprechaun with these!
I’m not an elf-on-the-shelf kind of mom, so I really didn’t think I’d be into building leprechaun traps. But after seeing how much joy and excitement it brought my son when we built our first trap, I’m sold (on leprechaun traps, that is…elf on the shelf seems like way too big of a commitment for this momma).
Our DIY leprechaun trap was so easy to make and turned out to be so much fun. Of course, when building a leprechaun trap, you can’t forget the signs so leprechauns know exactly where to look for free gold coins or Lucky Charms!
I designed some printable leprechaun trap signs that you can use in your own leprechaun trap. I think they’re cute enough to entice some magical little guys to come snooping…and who knows? You might just be lucky enough to catch one! 😉
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What is a leprechaun trap?
A leprechaun trap is a fun, creative DIY project that’s perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! It’s essentially a little trap you build to try and catch a leprechaun, the mischievous little elf from Irish folklore.
These traps can be made with a variety of inexpensive materials, like a cardboard box or shoe box, glittery paper, and shiny coins to lure the leprechaun in. Building traps can be a fun St. Patrick’s Day craft for the whole family that sparks creativity and gets kids excited about the holiday (which is otherwise pretty lackluster, at least in my experience).
Plus, even if you don’t manage to catch one of those sneaky little guys, they might still leave a little surprise that your kids can wake up to the next morning! (And in case I need to spell out what I mean, it would be you, the parent, who leaves a surprise for your kids. You could even include this cute printable leprechaun letter!)
How to make a leprechaun trap
There are tons of ways to make leprechaun traps, so you’ll just need to use your imagination and grab your stash of craft supplies (even if that’s just cereal boxes, some green construction paper, popsicle sticks, and common household items). The dollar store will also have fun St. Patrick’s Day items you could use in your own trap: my leprechaun hat, mini black pot, and plastic gold coins all came from Dollar Tree.
Leprechaun traps are a great way to challenge kids of all ages and improve their critical thinking and fine motor skills. I highly recommend this book for leprechaun trap inspiration, or you can check out my DIY leprechaun trap tutorial HERE, complete with a rainbow made of pipe cleaners and cotton ball clouds.
Leprechaun traps need just a few things:
- Something to catch the leprechaun’s attention: They love pots of gold and other shiny things. I also hear they have a sweet tooth so Lucky Charms cereal or candy would make good bait. Or use chocolate coins–best of both worlds!
- Some sort of mechanism to “trap” the leprechaun: For instance, mine has a secret trap door that a pesky leprechaun is bound to fall into when he tries to snatch the pot of gold underneath the leprechaun hat (which is also propped up by a dowel that’s attached to a string so you can pull it and trap the leprechaun underneath).
- Signs to welcome leprechauns in! (I guess signs are optional, but they’re a fun addition and definitely can’t hurt your chances!)
How to use these leprechaun trap signs
Download the free printable leprechaun trap signs below. Print at 100% scale and select borderless printing if needed so the edges don’t get cut off. Print on white cardstock for best results, though regular printer paper works in a pinch.
Cut out the signs that you want to use in your leprechaun trap. You can attach them right to your trap with glue or tape, or you can make a simple sign with a popsicle stick like I did. I then stuck the popsicle stick inside my cardboard box by cutting a little slit to keep it upright, then applied hot glue around the base for more stability.
You could also use toothpicks or dowels, or punch holes and make a hanging sign with string–get creative!
Download the free printable leprechaun trap signs
Note: These free printables are for personal use only and may not be shared, sold, or distributed, in whole or in part. Please do not share this PDF file or the download link–they are for personal use only. Please share a link to this blog post instead!
Click the image or button below to get your free printable leprechaun trap signs:
Free Printable Leprechaun Trap Signs
Homemade leprechaun traps are such a fun way to make St. Patrick’s Day magical for small children. I hear leprechauns are pretty elusive, but hopefully these fun printable leprechaun trap signs get you that much closer to catching one! I think we’d all love to have three wishes granted or be given a leprechaun’s real pot of gold (as the folklore goes)!
May the luck o’ the Irish be with you! 😉
