Mumsnet Talk

I've just been out doing the shopping and popped in to the local charity shop to drop in some of the DC's clothes when I spotted a wooden puppet theatre with six puppets. It looks very expensive and barely used and it was a whole £4 so I thought I'd use the bus fare I was saving to buy it.

Got it home and told DP it was brilliant, the best £4 I had ever spent, how the DC's and we would have a great time with it and he says "What a waste of bus fare. I hate puppet shows. Puppet theatres are shit. One day wonder".

AIBU to force him to watch all of our Christmassy puppet shows because puppet theatres are NOT shit!?

I'll be off making clothes out of curtains and singing about lonely goats.

Sorry, I'd have been a lot more polite about it but I agree with your DP.

Also, what accent would you give to a crocodile puppet?

Hee hee, yes I think you should spend the entire festive season making up really loooooooong and elaborate puppet plays with your DCs and forcing DP to watch them over & over & over & over again to serve him right for being such a misery.

If it turns out that it is in fact a one day wonder and DCs are not really that fussed about it either, just make up the puppet shows yourself and force them all to watch to serve them all right!

Also, what accent would you give to a crocodile puppet?

West Country? Australian? Japanese? Whatever floats your boat.

Dd loved her puppet theatre. Was one of her very favourite toys. I really hope your dcs love it too and show your dp he is very wrong! Get them into making tickets/programme etc too - very educashunal don't you know

Try musical puppet theatre, it worked for Julie Andrews,

I guess there's a reason it's barely used and in a charity shop and that reason might not be entirely unconnected with your dh's opinion but I couldn't have resisted it either. You haven't lost much if the dc don't like it and it can always be passed on.

Why would you force him to watch if it's not his thing though?

Tickets and programmes! Brilliant idea! I'm going to wrap it up for Christmas for them and make the programmes beforehand so DC1 can help me plan the show for an after dinner treat. If DP is grumpy he doesn't get cake

I am forced to endure his American football recordings, he can watch our brilliant puppet master theatre show

They will definitely get bored after a while but for £4 I think it was a bargain even if only used for a day or two and when it has truly run its course I can save it for drunken adult parties give it to the charity shop for another family's fun.

Sorry I have to agree with your husband. I hated Punch & Judy as a child cos I found it slightly disturbing and think it has stuck with me ever since

What's not to like about a bit of puppetry. Make sure everyone can say "sausages" in that particularly puppety way and you can have a couple of excellent days winding up the Puppet Hater.

I am forced to endure his American football recordings

Oh in that case it's fine. In fact he probably deserves 24/7 puppet exposure for days for inflicting torture to that degree

Can I come to your Christmas puppet show? It sounds fab! Can you yodel?

My neice has one and they love it.

The crocodile has to be a piss poor Aussie accent obviously

My daughter had one that she loved and her brother used to sit and watch her perform all the time x

I cannot abide by American football. He also watches Elementary. I told him we could just watch Sherlock but no, the bloody bad taste traitor

Bad Aussie accent is doable!

& yes, come one, come all! There will be Iceland knock off Baileys and everything

I have just spent considerably more than that on a new one for my dc for christmas.

I imagine, like most toys, some children play with them and some don't. At school the puppet theatre is very heavily used.

My DC's enjoy imaginative play. They spend hours with teddy bears making picnics and school scenarios so I'm hoping that this will get used a bit. Plus, I'm quite happy to be involved with this kind of play as long as I can be creative director

Our school one is ignored by some children and adored by others. It's a lottery.

When I taught a Reception class the puppet theatre was the most played with toy. They spent hours playing with it!

I'm going to wrap it up tonight and practice my Julie Andrews voice. I can learn to yodel in two weeks.

My daughter would LOVE that! Crocodiles sound like Alan Rickman in Die Hard btw.

As long as they don't move on to being part of the hideousness that is The Puppeteers on Nickleodeon.

Puppet theatres are not shit, YANBU.

And a strategically-placed cushion in front of your face "Because I'm scared, Darling, your Crocodile is terrifying!" means you can have a kip during the longer shows.

DS had one that played a selection of music. I only wanted to stamp on it a couple of times.