They Came

My son made his first leprechaun trap when he was in kindergarten thanks to a read-aloud at school of “How to Catch a Leprechaun.” He tried several variations over the next few years, and then he decided he was never going to catch them. So for the past three years, he has set up a leprechaun “carnival” where the leprechauns can come have a good time after a night of dodging traps.

This year’s carnival included a Lego Minecraft minecart ride that dropped into a pit of colorful foam shapes, a mini Rubix cube to solve and a pop-it to jump on. The carnival grounds were heavily guarded by plastic army men, and lots of spring-loaded Lego guns and cannons were left for the leprechauns to play with. (I can’t help but think that the recent invasion of Ukraine has a lot to do with the reemergence of the army men from the toy box.) For the second year in a row, my daughters have also been in the fun. This year they made signs, slides, and balls made of pipe cleaners to add to the festivities.

Last night after dinner all three kids joined forces to set up the carnival, working right up until bedtime to get everything just right. Then they went to bed saying, “I hope the leprechauns come tonight!”

This morning, they jumped from bed and rushed down the stairs to check out the carnival. “They came! They came!” they cried happily.

😉

The leprechauns rounded up all the army men on patrol.