Toys.

It’s that time of the year, right?

(But I drafted this prompt back in April, when I contemplated the purchase of a new toy…so that time of year? Not working here.)

I never did buy that toy: not enough bang for the buck. And the new version isn’t scheduled to ship until at least January. No toys under my Christmas Tree this year.

How about yours?

Here’s Your Prompt:

• Write a scene from a play or novel where a toy plays an integral role. It could cause an argument between characters, be bestowed as a gift, be stolen. Anything, so long as it’s crucial to the plot.
   
• Write a free-verse poem about a toy. Or, write a poem where the first word of each line starts with one letter in the name of your favorite toy. (So, if your fav toy is the xylophone, the first line of your poem starts with a word starting with X, the next line starts with a word starting with Y, etc.).
   
• The little toy dog is covered with dust,
  But sturdy and stanch he stands;
  And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
  And his musket moulds in his hands.
  Time was when the little toy dog was new,
  And the soldier was passing fair;
  And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
  Kissed them and put them there.
   
  ~ Little Boy Blue, by Eugene Field
   
• Design a toy you’d like to own. (This toy can be mechanical, electronic or old fashioned wood and springs. It’s your toy, you design it!)
   
• Write an essay about your favorite childhood toy. Or, write an essay about your favorite current toy (your car, your laptop, your iPod…all these qualify).
   
• Leaving the things that are real behind
  Leaving the things that you love from mind
  All of the things that you learned from fears
  Nothing is left for the years
   
  ~ Aerosmith, Toys in the Attic

Good luck!