Muppets Demystified
When I was a kid, Christmas meant getting splinters from a new set of Lincoln Logs, or maybe chewing up your fingers on the merciless metal edges of an Erector set. Still, the pain was a small price to pay for the hours of imaginative playtime such toys provided. 
This holiday season, imagination takes flight in a new (if not necessarily original) way. Obviously drawing on the success of the Build-A-Bear Workshop, F.A.O. Schwarz has introduced the Muppet Whatnot Workshop, where kids can build their very own Muppets. Of course, the main Sesame Street and Muppet Show players, such as Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Grover, remain sacred, and cannot be reproduced by the workshop resources. Instead, children can choose from a wide variety of body types, noses, eyes, hair, and clothes, to build a "Whatnot," or Muppet extra. The Whatnots are 16" tall hand and rod puppets, just like the real Muppets.
I'm not sure how I feel about kids building their own Muppets. Do I think it will engage a child's creativity and imagination? Sure. Do I think children will enjoy having their own Muppet pal, and have an absolute blast becoming fledgling Muppeteers? Absolutely. However, I can't help thinking that the Whatnot Workshop robs the Muppets of some of their magic. I hope the wee Muppet-Makers flocking to F.A.O. Schwarz this holiday season will fail to recognize that their constructs of felt, foam, and vinyl are the reality behind the funny, charming characters who taught them —and many of us— about letters, numbers, sharing, and friendship.
—Tom
