Neil Patrick Harris convinced his kids that leprechauns trashed their house

If any of you moms and dads out there need a little inspiration to keep your kids in line between the departure of the Elf on the Shelf and the arrival of the Easter Bunny, look no further than “Parents of the Year,” every year, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka.

Neil and David are well-known for their legend…wait for it…ary Halloween photo shoots with their now 6-year-old twins, Harper and Gideon, and they recently threw a Chopped-themed play date for the kids and their friends. Well, Neil and David could have outdone themselves, sharing their family’s adorable St. Patrick’s Day tradition, which went a bit awry this year.

Each year, the Harris/Burtka kids leave traps for the leprechauns that visit their house on March 17, hoping to capture them for the gifts they receive upon their release. The kids decided to flip the script this year and leave gifts for the leprechauns, in an attempt to gain presents for their kindness. Neil documented the whole thing on his Instagram, starting with the spread the kids left for the leprechauns. NPH posted a photo of mushrooms, potatoes, beer and whiskey, accompanied by a video of the kids, in full St. Patrick’s garb, declaring their devotion and affection for the magical creatures.

In the video, Gideon promised he’d treat the visitors well, adding, “We’ll keep you away from our dogs.” Gideon promised bed making and room service, and, of course, “potatoes and mushrooms and beer every day if you want.” Gideon, a boy after my own heart, helpfully chimed in, “And whiskey.” Gideon asked for a gold coin per day in exchange for a potato and Gideon proclaimed, “We love you!”

Well, the mischievous leprechauns opted for tricks, not treats, “trashing” the home bu strewing toilet paper all over the place, upending furniture and, for the “mic drop” moment, spelling out the word “NEVER” on the floor in potatoes. NPH posted a photo of two very unhappy kids, with a caption describing the destruction.

This is too adorable, isn’t it? Neil and David are truly great parents, and I love the things they do for their kids. I wonder what happens when they lose their teeth? The Tooth Fairy that visits that house must be intense.

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34 Responses to “Neil Patrick Harris convinced his kids that leprechauns trashed their house”

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  1. Jess says:

    That is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard, lol. They really do seem like amazing parents who are truly involved with their children, I couldn’t love them more!

  2. Digital Unicorn (aka Betti) says:

    I love this, its all about the experience for the kids but am sure the parents had a ball too!

    Those are cute kids.

  3. Goats on the Roof says:

    Love, love, love this! Words cannot express. Also, those are some beautiful kids NPH and DB have.

  4. kNY says:

    Oh my goodness, how cute! During the video, when Gideon kept talking and Harper wanted a chance to talk, she tapped him on the arm, gestured to herself, and he stopped talking so she could talk. Those are some well-behaved kids!

  5. Mikasa says:

    These kids are really pretty.

  6. Lightpurple says:

    I need some lego brick pajamas.

    What is this leprechaun thing? I saw people posting about it all over Facebook last week. My mom’s family is Irish and we never did any such thing with leprechaun traps.

    • Esmom says:

      I work at a preschool and the leprechaun trapping on March 17 is a huge deal at school. Their favorite evidence of the leprechauns’ existence is the green “urine” in the toilets (thanks to food coloring). And a fair number of kids have a “leprechaun” at home during March, who plays mischievous tricks or leaves little gifts them every day.

      I’m not sure when/where/how this all started. My kids were in preschool 15 years ago and it wasn’t yet a thing. And it sure wasn’t a thing during my childhood in the 70s, even in my predominantly Irish American neighborhood.

    • deezee says:

      I think its really recent. Never heard of trapping leprechauns, Pinterest traps, etc. until quite recently. And I know quite a few Irish people that have never heard of such things.

      • Matomeda says:

        Yes this is recent. I’ve never done this and my Irish friends are puzzled. We all learned about it from trap making at school which then had to be done at home of course, too, for siblings 🙂

  7. KB says:

    Lol this is so adorable

  8. Emily says:

    I’ll be the negative Nancy, here. My daughter woke up expecting a leprechaun to have tricked us and messed up our stuff, or at least left her some candy. I had no idea she was expecting this. I also had a baby a few weeks ago, so even if I had I don’t think I could have done anything. I blame Pinterest for turning every. single. holiday into a seek and find/gift-giving adventure. Wear green and eat some vaguely shamrock-shaped pancakes: that’s Saint Patrick’s Day for kids. We don’t always have to do THE MOST.

    • Esmom says:

      Yeah, I just posted above how it’s a big deal at our preschool but I could see that as a parent it would be really irritating if you didn’t want to partake. I know I wouldn’t. People sure can be over the top with this stuff, it does start to feel like a competition.

      • Emily says:

        Yes, I saw your comment above, and the “green urine” is definitely one thing she was checking for! I appreciate her schools for always making things fun but…I just couldn’t be bothered this year and it annoyed me! 🙂

      • Esmom says:

        I actually think the school goes over the top with it, too. I think one teacher started it a few years ago to add to the fun on March 17 and it really took off from there. One teacher told me she doesn’t do it with her three year old classes because some of her kids are scared of the mythical leprechaun…I appreciate her sensitivity.

        I hear you on not being bothered, it can be exhausting…there were nights when I had to be on tooth fairy duty and I was afraid of falling asleep and my son waking up with no $! The pressure! Speaking of which, don’t even get me started on what some kids get for their teeth these days! 🙂

    • CommentingBunny says:

      You? I like you. Totally agree. This is adorable and all but it’s all too much!

    • QQ says:

      It seems to me this stuff stays being engineered to try to make ever season into somme gift giving candy “celebratory basket” Craptavaganza for people that like that OTT year round decorating/Celebrating ______… you know them, They do fall gourds, want a shower AND a Gender reveal, Celebrate Birthday MONTH

      • Emily says:

        On the one hand I enjoy people who genuinely love to celebrate and make a big deal out of small things…it takes all types, you know (although you get a shower OR a gender reveal and that’s for your first)? And I totally get how teachers need to break things up during the year and go a little wacky over small things, kids need that, too. But I just couldn’t go in for making a mess in my house that I would eventually clean up so my kids could giggle for 2 minutes in the morning.

    • Cherise says:

      Allow me to bandwagon in the Negative Nancing. These two put their kids out on display way too much. They have millions of followers and they are aware these posts get picked up by entertainment news and yet they insist on posting vid after vid of those babies. Its too much. Who else consistently does this? Not even the Kardashians go this far.

      • RebbyRose says:

        I noticed and sorta feel the same way too,

        *I* personally think they do it because they are aware they whether it was intentional or not they are an example of a gay couple raising not only children but raising a boy AND a girl.

        They are aware that they are being watched by people that hate gays and believe they should never be around children let alone raise them. And I believe they are trying to show those people and the world that a gay couple can not only raise children but they can excel at.

        So on one hand they are absolutely over sharing their children’s lives but that’s what parents especially celebrity parents do. On the other hand they are a shining example and symbol of positive mainstream Gay pride, that closeted gays and homophobes need to witness.

    • KiddVicious says:

      I’m glad I’m not a parent of school age children these days. Birthdays and Christmas were the only times I got presents, and Halloween and Easter I got candy. That’s it.

      I hate to ask, but what happens on Cinco de Mayo? Is there a tequila fairy kids try and capture?

    • Morgan says:

      I hate it. My kids got all hyped up about leprechaun tricks at school, too, and I just refuse. We’re 0% Irish and do not live in a place with any kind of Irish population so why is St Patrick’s day even a thing? ugh

  9. Cee says:

    LOL my mum’s celt so I grew up believing in fairies and dwarves and good witches (there’s video of me in the woods screaming “I SEE IT! I CAN SEE THE DWARF!”)

    I have no problem with this! Also, Gideon is BOSS.

    • RebbyRose says:

      Your mom sounds freakin’ awesome, must’ve been fun wholeheartedly believing in those magical creatures with your mom.

  10. Nicole says:

    Their kids are so adorable and I love that they do the most to make holidays fun for them. Even the first day of school is a huge deal in their house.

  11. Maria says:

    i love it, but it seems like SO much work. I suppose they had some help in getting everything together. I feel for regular folks who try to keep up…

  12. Adrien says:

    What have you done, NPH? These kids are going to grow up hating Ed Sheeran.

  13. Snowflake says:

    Those kids are just so cute! And so obviously well taken care of. Bless those guys for giving those babies a great home. Nph was so great on How I Met Your Mother, he did a great job acting, never would have guessed he is gay. Played a straight guy really well!

  14. Michelle says:

    I love this! Those two kids are having the best childhood!

  15. paranormalgirl says:

    This is cute. I grew up in Ireland and we tried to trap leprechauns when I was little, but not on St Patrick’s Day, as that was a religious day for those of us raised by nuns.

  16. Dumbledork says:

    Yeah, I’ll hop on the “too much” bandwagon. I got crap from my youngest because there weren’t shamrock pancakes and leprechaun footprints the morning of st Patrick’s day. And I’m Irish, but no way that was getting done before school. I’m lucky I get showered and dressed. This is just a big Pinterest thing for moms to outdo each other, like the elf on the shelf.

  17. MC2 says:

    Love the reprieve from the normal ‘news’ these days- even celebrity news is depressing. I’ll take two more orders of lovely twins being raised with love. Make it a double stack!

  18. Chelly says:

    I follow them on IG & although I never post on any celebs post I couldn’t just not say anything. This was one of the most creative & greatest things I’ve ever seen. These guys are so dedicated & just so much fun & what I think they’re doing (in terms of going too overboard or being excessive) is harmless & are actually creating & documenting such beautiful memories & traditions (& stories) their kids will likely carry when they have families of their own. Although admittedly I have never heard of this before & wasn’t sure if this was a new thing new parents did being that i don’t have little ones of my own. Anyway, I must have watched the kids video 100xs cause they were just too stinking cute!

    • Chelly says:

      Also, I really think they’re just being typical 1st time parents & what looks like a lot of over-the-top shenanigans is just them being fun dad’s for their babies

  19. Taya says:

    I’m half Irish and grew up doing this.