How Toys Are Made

Danny was tall for an elf. He played basketball in college and hoped that someday he would be drafted into the big leagues. He wanted so desperately to play for Santa’s Sleighers or Rudolph’s Reds, but a season ending ankle injury stripped him of those hopes. He knew he didn’t want to be a reindeer tender like his dad. That was back-breaking work. He had finally decided on a shop elf as a vocation. How hard could that be?

This year, however, was a different story. Danny knew that people thought elves just spent a couple of months crafting toys in the shop, but there was a lot more to it – and this year, the competition was stiffer than ever. All the elves knew that times were hard for the people of the world and only the very best of the very best toys would be hot sellers.

The planning started in February, after a much-needed month off. Each elf had to have their toys ready to present to the heads of all of the big companies by June. Mattel would be there, EA Sports, Sony, Nintendo, Barbie, Parker Brothers, Apple, Hot Wheels, Slinky…. You name it and that company was represented at the convention. Only the lucky elves would ever see their ideas come to fruition. It was impossible for an elf to market their own product, but if Danny could get his Room-Minder Robot into the hands of someone like Sony, he knew it would be a hit. In all, only 20 elves’ products would be accepted by the toy makers. That left 30 other elves that would not get a contract. To Danny it wasn’t just the humility of spending the year making other elves’ toys. The money was more than double if you had a contract, and he was planning to ask Cindy to marry him and then they would start a family. That extra cash would definitely come in handy then.

He looked around the drafting room, where all of the elves huddled for hours over blueprints and starred at computer screens honing their ideas and presentations. He’d graduated near the top of his class in Shop Elf College, but so did a lot of the other guys. These were the elves he was competing against.

Danny’s idea was one that allowed for expansion in the future. The Room-Minder Robot did several tasks right out of the box: it made a child’s bed on command, picked up toys in his or her room, and would bring all dirty laundry to the hamper, once programmed as to the hamper’s location. In subsequent years, he would add service packs to the robots: math tutors, grammar tutors, a baseball pitcher… he had so many ideas. He knew the kids would love the Room-Minder. He just needed to get it into the right hands. He needed it desperately. He wanted to buy his own cottage. He couldn’t ask Cindy to marry him until he was financially stable. The thought ran through his head for months. Now, there were only a few more days left until the convention.

******

Convention time came quicker than any of the elves could have imagined. They all spent the entire last night in the drafting room, busily working on their projects. It was “do or die time”, as they put it. Mrs. Claus came in with pizza for dinner, as she always did. Normally there was a bit of a party atmosphere on the last night. But not this year. There were too many great ideas and no one could take the chance to rest, not even for a few minutes. She came back with Santa shortly before midnight. He made his rounds, offering words of encouragement and praise.

“What do you think, Santa?” Danny asked, erasing some errant marks on this blue print.

“Hmmm,” was all Santa replied, but then he winked and put a thumb to his nose. Danny knew this was a good sign. It was the best encouragement he could hope to ask for.

Danny fell asleep that night wondering if there was anything he overlooked. He slept fitfully, and woke unrested and cranky. It was a long trip to Finland for the convention and he hadn’t packed yet. In less than an hour, all the elves were in the sleigh and headed to Finland.

*****

The convention had an atmosphere of the biggest party Danny had ever attended. At the age of 21, elves were allowed to enter the competition. This was his first year, and he simply hoped he didn’t get lost. He left his bags in the room and went to check out the buffet. It stretched for a city block. Any food an elf could ever want was on that buffet. He ate himself silly and returned to his room. He had a big day tomorrow, and a speech to polish.

The next morning, Danny arose with a spirit that could not be quelled. It was his day to shine, he was sure of it. He presented to Sony at 9 am and to Nintendo at 10 am. The rest of the day would be spent waiting, but at least the hard part was out of the way early. He spent an hour second-guessing his speech and finally could take no more. He went to see some of the other presentations. He thought he might be in trouble as he watched some of the other elves present their video game ideas. Some of the games were so life-like that Danny thought a kid would never have to leave his home. Worried, he left the convention and went back to his room.

*****

“I don’t care if you get a contract, Danny,” Cindy’s voice said through the phone line. “I will always love you anyway.”

“Cindy, if I don’t get a contract,” Danny protested, “I’ll never be able to take care of you.”

“Daniel Heikken, you know I can take care of myself!” Cindy retorted in mock defiance.

“I know you can, Honey. I just want to be able to give you anything you could ask for.”

“You are all I need, Danny.” Cindy paused. “How does the competition look?”

“It’s stiff. Very stiff. The video games are a sure hit. I just know they’ll all get contracts. And there are a few other games down here that don’t look too bad, either!” Despair was in Danny’s voice. The confidence he awoke with this morning was fading quickly.

“Danny, no matter what happens, I will still love you. Your idea was great. If it doesn’t make it this year, you can bring it back next year. For sure you’ll make it then!” Cindy’s devotion was not wasted on him. His chest puffed out, even if he didn’t think he’d make the cut.

Someone knocked on the door. “Hang on, Cindy. There’s someone at the door,” he said.

“Sir?” A tall man in a tuxedo stood at his door. “Are you Daniel Heikken?”

“Yes. Can I help you?”

“If I could beg you away, Sir, a representative from Sony would like to speak with you about your Room-Minder Robot.”

Danny couldn’t believe his ears. He’d never heard of a rep wanting to talk before the convention dinner where all of the winners were announced. The man at the door smiled at him and outstretched an arm to the hallway.

Danny ran back to the phone, “Cindy, I gotta go! Sony wants to talk to me.”

“Does that mean you made it, Danny?”

“I don’t know, Honey. I’ll have to talk to you when I get home. I’ll be there tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Cindy’s words echoed as he hung up the phone.

“Please, Sir, bring your drawings as well,” the man told him.

Danny wasn’t sure if he would get the contract, but he knew he had a shot if they were asking to speak with him. He headed down the hall, head held high, with the man in the tuxedo. He was going to talk to the Sony people!

Word Count: 1346