The march of the marionettes

On a recent trip to Prague, I fell in love with the town's infamous toy shops. Somehow, I managed to squeeze into my bag a set of 6" marionettes for my kids, along with a small puppet theater. Who would know it would turn out to be the best-loved guilt gift I ever brought home from a business trip.

 

The sweet Marionety shop is up a cobblestone street near the Prague Castle, and is filled with everything from inexpensive mass-produced wooden puppets, to hand-carved antiques that ring in over $1000. I grabbed a few of the small Marionettes and a puppet theater, and not a day has not gone by since then that my four year-old has not insisted that we all sit down in our chairs while she does a show for us.

(Generally about Princess Isabel and Prince Silly who likes to wiggle a lot. We're working on her repertoire.)

The theater itself isn't exquisite workmanship--it's basically some wooden flats that serve as backdrops, covered with pretty printed papers that let you change the set around. And of course, there's the red curtain that opens and closes for dramatic effect. But I do like the convenient size and the fact that it all collapses down with the wooden pieces sliding into a trap door under the stage. And my kids can't get enough of it.

if shipping is prohibitive to the US from the Loutky website, I've found similar puppets at CzechMarionettes.com including the awesome Pinocchio marionette that would make fantastic baby or kids room decor. But I just haven't been able to find that theater anywhere else yet. Glad I grabbed it when I could. -Liz

Find wonderful Czech marionettes from playthings to collectibles at  Loutky and CzechMarionettes.com. And be sure to visit the Loutky shop if you're ever in Prague!

Find More: Toys and Other Playthings, Travel and events