For the DIY set: Make your own Muppet online
Forget Kermie. Now you can make your own Muppet with FAO Schwarz's online puppet designer, Muppet Whatnot.
It might not be as technically challenging as modding a PC out of a humidor, but FAO Schwarz's make-your-own-Muppet tool is still a kick for cubicle dwellers with a few minutes to kill.
With the Muppet Whatnot designer, you get to pick from three bodies, choose eyes, a nose, hair, and an outfit, and you've got yourself a custom-made Muppet faster than you can say: Gersh gurndy morn-dee burn-dee.
But for 90 bucks a pop, you'd better be sure you really like that round red nose better than the pointy yellow.
A press representative says it takes four to six weeks to receive your creation--enough time for the holidays if you start now.
But beginning November 13, the Muppets will take Manhattan--again. Customers at the Fifth Avenue store will be able to design their Muppets in-store and walk out with their new toy about 20 minutes later. Also note that, though we don't have one to look at in person (stuffed animals don't quite cut it on the CNET expense account), we suspect these are actual puppets, not full-bodied stuffed animals.
If Muppets aren't your thing, the famed toy store has another do-it-yourself toy-making service. With the Make-My-Own-Monster Custom Design Kit, you can send in your own drawing of the creatures that haunt you in the night, and a few weeks and $250 later, they'll mail you back a stuffed animal fashioned after your design.
For those who aren't so artistically inspired (or who don't want to drop that much money on a stuffed animal), FAO Schwarz has a handful of pre-made plushies based on other people's ideas. Personal favorites are Oliver and Sharky, shown below.
