Karen Foulds' business can turn grown men into sniggering schoolboys and bring a smile to even the frostiest face.

Called Sense of Humour, it specialises in making people laugh.

Her tools of the trade are singing hamsters, remote control fart machines and mirrors that say "Aren't you gorgeous?" and "Who says your bum looks big in that?"

There are rats with red flashing eyes and severed hands that race across the floor.

She said: "I sent one of the hands scuttling off at a fair recently. A couple of women screamed and within minutes there were 12 men queueing up to buy two each."

Karen, who lives near East Grinstead and sells at charity fairs across Sussex, needed a job after the antique shop where she worked closed and she wanted something that would fit round looking after her sons Adam, 12, Matthew, ten, and husband Stephen.

She said: "One day I found myself standing next to an elderly couple at a school fair.

"Their business was called Sense of Humour and they were looking to retire. I loved the name so I bought it off them."

Since then Karen has put her own stamp on the business.

She said: "I'm not interested in the £2 stocking-filler market. The stuff I sell is usually £5-£15 and a decent present in itself."

Depending on your sense of humour, that can range from sound-activated, slow-moving anti-stress turtles that tell you "You're working too hard" to decadent after-dinner nipple mints.

There is also an after-dinner game called Head Case where fellow diners fire ping-pong balls into a basket strapped to your head.

"It's totally stupid but it's a laugh. Some of the things are like that - useless but funny and that's what it's all about."

Karen, 40, bought Sense of Humour more than a year ago and in the last few months business has boomed.

"I can't say for sure that it's a reaction to the horror of September 11 but people do seem to want to have fun. I'm trying to help them lighten up."

She enjoys the fun and games as much as her customers.

She said: "Horrible screaming masks which have blood trickling down them turn old ladies white but teenage boys love them.

"And the fart machines always raise a laugh. People say 'That's disgusting - I'll have two, please'."

Karen's background is in hotel management, marketing and client hospitality. She enlists the help of her sons for market research.

"They tell me whether they like an item and what their friends think of it. Flashing mobile phone holders have been a huge hit with their friends, especially the girls."

Karen's business has its serious side - "I go to toy fairs in Germany and in Britain and it is tricky to predict what is going to be a hit. Sometimes I have to make a decision from a design that's only on paper.

"I work hard from September to Christmas, do the toy fairs early in the year and then take July and August off to be with the boys."

Karen's bulging garage doubles as a shop and she welcomes visitors. For an appointment ring 01342 833840.