Lots of shorter private answers, time to write a public one. The fingerpuppets: I originally discovered their existence at a booth at Stitches West, years ago, when I bought a little penguin and put it on the joystick of my electric chair that I use for long days out. I found it was at eye level to and made me instant friends with every little kid being dragged around by their moms, and I ended up going back and buying more.
I later googled, found my own bulk supplier, and ordered directly from Peru–but that website has since disappeared. (I’m sure there are others now.)
So these days I take the easy way out and order them via Ebay. Here‘s one seller, 20 for $20, free shipping, or he’s also got 50 for $34. Or here, 50 wool ones for $38.99 including shipping. Some sellers will let you specify what type you want–farm animals, llamas, fish, people–some won’t. If you don’t want Decembery-specific ones right now, do say so.
Although, remember my dad’s axiom and be careful how you state your preferences: people remember the negative item only out of the negative request. He once ordered me a birthday cake in “anything but chocolate” while making reservations for a surprise party, and all the restaurant remembered was that lovely word “chocolate.” I got THE most glorious, the most intensely chocolatey cake my 13-year-old self could possibly have hoped for. I was in heaven.
Dad, whose allergy to the stuff was why we didn’t have it around the house, was not amused. At the time.
Back to the puppets. The last time I bought them, it was a seller in Peru for whom I was his fifth Ebay sale. Unfortunately, his second and third sales went to someone who didn’t understand that the guy was in a third world country and mail might occasionally go at llama pace down there; they negatively rated him over a three-week delivery time, and he disappeared shortly after. Which is a shame; $24 for 100 plus $12 shipping? Well worth the wait; I keep hoping he’ll pop back up again somehow (or I could certainly try googling again).
At any of those prices, one of those finger puppets is a heck of a lot cheaper than, say, paying the $4 bridge toll over the San Francisco Bay for the guy driving behind you.
Which is great fun and highly recommended too. Cheap thrills. I love’em.