Magic

Tonight we will build a leprechaun trap.

The execution and idea of said trap is fairly rudimentary and simple. Ok, it's essentially just a deadfall trap with a pile of Lucky Charms and some of my best costume jewelry underneath but stay with me. 

Growing up, my family and I were heavy into the holidays, with my mom and dad making a celebration out of even the most mundane calendar events. Of all of the made up, pseudo-holidays, St. Patrick's Day was probably my favorite. Every year it was the same; green food dye in our milk, corned beef and cabbage in our bellies, "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" on the TV and my dad speaking in fake Gaelic to make us laugh. Sometimes we even woke up to a trail of golden coins leading to some kind of mischievous setup (in your face, Elf on the Shelf).

My grandmother's Irish heritage gave us legit license to celebrate the holiday in our own utterly Americanized way, and I'm happy to pass it down to my own kids. The best part is, I bet if I walk into my parents house right now, there will be a green tablecloth out somewhere, shamrocks here and there and my grandmother's Belleek collectible dishware prominently displayed.

Sadly, I'm not awesome as my own mom when it comes to making holiday magic. She was a true master at making personalized Easter baskets, always found the best, most thoughtful stocking stuffers, and always made sure we always had Valentines and chocolate so that we would feel loved. She still sends my boys and I cards on the holidays, even silly one's like St. Patrick's Day.

Which brings me back to the leprechaun trap. We adopted it as a family tradition when Davey was in kindergarten, probably inspired by something I saw online. David has fun researching and learning how to set traps with them, and it also makes a good excuse to buy a junky box of cereal once a year. It may be the last year Lucas asks to make a leprechaun trap, but maybe I'll be lucky and he'll want to show Max how to do it next year.

I don't have any decorations out, and I'm pretty sure my boys no longer enjoy "Darby O'Gill" nearly as much as I do. But there will still be green food dye in the milk, corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot, "The Leprechaun" on the TV and maybe, just maybe, a successfully sprung leprechaun trap.