You had better watch out. The puppets are coming and I am told, some of them are very rude indeed - ruder than Zig or Zag, Dustin or even the rudest of them all, Podge and Rodge.
Where will they be? In Birr, Co Offaly, which early next year will host the first National Puppet Festival. It will run from May 5th to 7th.
While most of the entertainment will be for family viewing, according to Mike McMahon of Shannon Development, one of the shows will carry a warning: "suitable for adult viewing only".
"The rest are completely safe for anyone between eight and 80," he said.
His organisation, along with Ely O'Carroll Tourism, Birr Chamber of Commerce and the Irish section of the International Puppetry Union, have organised the event.
Puppetry, he said, has always had a great appeal for children and was regaining its rightful place alongside the other performance arts, often playing to adult audiences.
Tracey Coughlan, of Ely O'Carroll Tourism, said puppetry had developed hugely in Ireland in recent years and was now very sought-after.
"Twenty-five years ago Eugene Lambert was almost alone, but now there are numerous practitioners of this form of theatre and most of them have signalled that they are coming to Birr," she said.
"Eugene Lambert and his family have been holding an International Puppet Festival in Dublin since 1991 but we wanted to stage a national event."
She said puppets will be seen performing the best-known puppet show of them all, Punch and Judy. There will also be performances of the Children of Lir, Snow White and Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile.
Tracey said there will be performances on the streets and in many venues around Birr over the weekend but the main focus will be in the Oxmantown Hall Theatre, which is currently being refurbished.
Sunday May 7th will see about 100 of the town's children converging on the centre of the town for a parade with extravagant costumes, masks and giant puppets.
There were plans, she said, to hold an open-air event, featuring many of the State's best-known puppeteers, at Camcor Park later in the evening.