How to Make Hand Puppets

How to make a puppet easy and on the fly to turn that frown upside down.

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by Adobestock/ReaLiia

How to make a puppet easy and on the fly to keep young children occupied and bring a smile to their faces by learning how to make hand puppets with just a napkin and a character voice.

There’s hardly an adult alive who hasn’t, at one time or another, had to deal with a bored youngster. Occasions vary: Perhaps the moment came for you in a restaurant when the child had finished eating and had to sit while others completed their meals. Or perhaps it was in the waiting room of a doctor’s office or bus station. Or when you were visiting adult friends. A toddler can become restless and frustrated at times like these and, being unhappy, can make life miserable for everyone else as well!

Each person must find his or her own best method of handling such situations, of course. Mine is through hand puppetry. Does it come as a surprise to learn that puppets can be practical? Well, I’ve been teaching preschoolers for a number of years now, and I have an imaginative two-year-old daughter of my own. These tots have helped me discover that puppetry and role playing can be enormously useful–not only in the classroom but also in everyday situations, where a new puppet can provide distraction and even help a child see a different point of view.

Enter the Players

If you’d like to make some practical hand puppets yourself, here are directions for a few favorites that have gotten me out of tight spots with my own two-year-old. I give each speaking character a particular voice (high, low, soft, gruff, or whatever) and one or two special interests or abilities.

  • Updated on Nov 1, 2022
  • Originally Published on Sep 1, 1984
Tagged with: Children, homemade toys, toys
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