A leprechaun snuck into our bathroom.

Last month on St. Patrick's Day at 6:47 AM, my four-year-old climbed into my bed, curled into a ball, and whispered in my ear: "I need to pee, but a leprechaun peed in my bathroom." The water in her bathroom was quite green. A leprechaun might have snuck into her bathroom. After all, it was St. Patrick's Day.

Three more tired kids stumbled in and lined up because my bathroom wasn't green. I tried to convince my youngest not to stay on my bed (for obvious reasons). The eldest three ran downstairs.

They concluded that the leprechaun had entered through the back door. He'd rigged a zip line, a sparkly green rope stretched across the living room to the two traps my kids had built. He rappelled down, sprang the trap door, and fell through the paper covering the hole. The fool's gold on top went in with him. (Don't worry, the girls put stuffing on the bottom. No one got hurt.)

Last year, the kids baited the traps with Lucky Charms. But the leprechaun knocked them over. Word on the street is that Lucky Charm marshmallows give leprechauns special powers. So this year, the kids ate a LOT of Lucky Charms the weekend before. (Or at least a LOT of Lucky Charm marshmallows from what I saw.)

But even without marshmallow-induced special powers, the leprechaun escaped. And on his way out, he covered the traps in green silly string. (Completely not allowed in the house!) One empty canister was on the floor, and four full canisters rolled out of his bag. A trail of gold candy led to the back door, and a toy was lassoed around the handle, apparently how he let himself out.

My kids were ecstatic. My youngest (who eventually used the bathroom) had her head inside the trap looking for the leprechaun. The other three were documenting the shortcomings to make modifications for next year.

And I was smiling ear to ear.

I love holiday magic. This one the kids brought home from school. The first year was a shoebox with a hole in the top. Now it's a multi-trap operation. Two traps, two feet tall, hot-glue-reinforced, taped to the floor, a week in the making. Every year they study what went wrong and redesign.

And for me, figuring out how to outsmart four very smart kids and two very well-engineered traps? Now, that's a good time. And I'm hoping to keep the magic alive so I can do it again next year.

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Have a tradition that makes you smile? Drop it in the comments. I'd love to hear it. (Heads up: I love trying new things!)

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Go have fun!

Michelle

Co-Founder, Thymely Games