Have marionettes gone the way of the rolling wood hoop and shuttlecock - historic toys found in museums (and eBay) but no longer played with by modern children? Maybe. But we still like them. Not many are produced these days, but we came across these beautiful kits which helps you make (and customize) your own.

The marionette parts are made in a small workshop in Prague and each kit includes the wood parts, instructions for putting them together and pictures of characters you may want to create. If you have any artistic talent you could try making one in the likeness of your child as a special gift. Kits are $79.99 and can be found at Imagine Childhood.