I think it would be cool to see the full version of this.  I asked Jay on FB if it could be available.  I know many times with live productions there are actually restrictions on if you can sale the video or not.  Hopefully there are none. 

Hey welcome to Puppets and Stuff!  I saw this over on FB and thought it was great!  So please you decided to join us and share it here. This is an excellent example of found object puppetry folks!

Very cute! You guys always do a good job.

Whoo Hoo! Congratulations! Is this your first grandchild?

I hate to make light of this but I did get a pretty good giggle out of it since he obviously did not get the fact that he was addressing a puppet.   It is serious tough and unfortunately even with all the attention to scams of this sort folks do fall for it. You should always be diligent when dealing with the internet. I just received an email yesterday that said my sister had purchased an advent calendar program for me and that I could download and install it via the link provided. Since it was an install of something I first emailed my sister to see if she had indeed purchased something for me. I also goggled the name of the company to see if anything came up.  Now in this case it was legit and my sister had made the purchase for me but always best to be safe. Perhaps I am just paranoid.

Welcome jtjmom.  We actually have quite a few puppet builders here at PandS and a few of them have even built blinking eye mechs into their puppets. I'll let them reply if they feel confident in building "extra strength". I am sure that any of our members can build basic well made puppets for him that would hold up it is just when it comes to mechs they can be a bit fragile. Even with gentle use they can need repair from time to time. All that being said you might want to check Axtell Expressions. http://www.axtell.com/ Yes they are pricy but you might want to contact the directly and explain what you are looking for and if they feel that their puppets could hold up to your unique situation. Steve the owner is a great guy and they may be able to work with you... never hurts to ask.

PofA (Puppeteers of America) has regional guilds and there are two in Illinois. http://www.puppeteers.org/community/regions-guilds/ One is in Chicago but the other is Central Illinois Puppetry Guild. Not sure where they meet but you could contact them and see if they meet in an area close to your son.

Lastly your son is more then welcome to join us here. We are a very friendly group.  We are all inclusive and tolerant of any ones needs special or not.

Our very own Dr Megan of The Ridiculous Puppet Company has a new Etsy shop.  Check it out!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/RidiculousPuppetCo

Not sure how Henson did it but a tube of foam an inch or so laying on it side that was painted or covered in black fabric that then had a string embedded in the top of the tube running down to the bottom would work if you then pulled on the string. Spring or piano wire in the circle that then was covered in black Lycra could do something similar. Pretty sure they use some type of flexible tube or circle that when compressed then released pops back just not sure of how they compressed it.

I bet they'll be fine. I've had foam stuffed in boxes or rolled up for extended lengths of time before and they have been fine. Just take more time to flatten out and lose creases. 

Well the mouths look like they are done in a couple of different ways. The announcer looks to be the standard marionette or vent figure mechanism. Essentially two 1/4 balls that rotate back into the head.  The choir is a bit different. Looks to be a lower lip attached to a black flat "plate" that slides up into the head. In one close up you can see a clear line connected to the lower lip that can pull down the lower lip so it appears as if the puppet is talking.

In regards to the arms I can only guess that they are an internal rigging.  Perhaps even a rod running up each side of the body that can be manipulated from below in order to rotate the arm that has a trigger on the end to raise and lower the arm. Think about a rod bent into an L that is held upside down. If you twisted the rod in your fingers it would swing the arm horizontally. If you put a "hinge" at the crook of the L you could collapse and extend that joint as needed to raise and lower the arm.