25 February 2026, Freewriters Community Daily Writing Prompt Day 3025: what’s in the box?

Fun things to do with little grandchildren and little grandchildren's friends: just leave a big, colorful box out on the back porch.

“Y'all enjoy,” Mrs. Gladys Jubilee Trent said, and walked away.

Her grandchildren Velma (11), Milton, and Gracie Trent (8) along with her great-nephew Vertran Stepforth (9) and their friends Eleanor (11), Glendella (10), Andrew (10), George (9), Edwina (8), Amanda (7), Grayson (6), and Lil' Robert Ludlow (5) would soon discover it.

“What's in the box?” Gracie asked her big sister Velma as their brother Milton came out of the house.

“Nothing,” Velma said. “It's just a big, beautiful box … nice colors … could use a bit more decoration, though.”

“Yeah – let me get some markers,” Milton said.

“What are y'all doing – what's in the box?” Glendella said as she walked over from her Lee cousins' home.

“There's nothing in it, but – oop, never mind, Goldie has claimed the box for now,” Velma said as the family cat, big golden Norwegian forest cat Goldie, jumped into the box to see what was going on.

“We're still going to decorate it,” Gracie said. “Can you go ask your your new grandfather to see if he will let Edwina back in the glitter cabinet?”

“I don't know about that,” Glendella said. “Glittapocalyse is still going – Upgrade Papa got up today and found glitter still in the pocket of the shirt he was wearing that day.”

“Uh oh,” Velma said.

“But we have some nice colored foil,” Glendella said.

“Oh, that's cool,” Milton said as he came back out with the markers and also his cousin Vertran. “Less mess that way.”

Goldie jumped out of the box into Gracie's arms, and Milton moved just in time to keep his sister from crashing into the porch.

“OK, so, Goldie,” Gracie said, “we gotta work on this.”

“Hey y'all – what's in the box?” George said as he walked up.

“Well, Goldie was in the box,” Glendella said, “but it's empty now.”

“You know, what we really need is some helium,” he said, “because I was just watching this video about hot-air balloons and that box is about the right size.”

“About the right size for you to either crash and die or be grounded until you do, you mean,” George's big brother Andrew said. “What's supposed to be in the box, though?”

“We don't know yet,” Velma said. “There's color gaps, though, so, we can at least fill those in first.”

“When y'all figure it out and get ready to move it wherever you want it,” Grayson said as he walked up, “I'll be glad to bring my red wagon.”

“Thank you, Grayson – always thinking of next steps,” Gracie said.

“It's like I keep trying to tell folks all the time – failing to plan is planning to fail, and we have way too much of that around here,” he said. “When a six year old's builds falls down less often than grown folks' builds, we got problems.”

“Yeah, but, remember,” Andrew said to his upset little brother, “grown folks don't use building materials that naturally lock together like Legos do, so, it's a little harder for them.”

“Well, that's still their fault,” Grayson said.

“Well, yeah,” Andrew said. “I can't get around that one.”

“What's in the box?” Edwina said as she and Amanda walked up.

“Nothing yet; we're figuring it out while we get ready to fill the color gaps,” Velma said.

“I gotta get Papa to let us back into the glitter cabinet – that thing needs some spiritual purple!” Edwina said.

“And some peaecful pink!” Amanda said.

“No, you probably don't want to do that right now,” Glendella said. “Papa just found glitter in a pocket from the last time.”

“Yeah, no,” Amanda said.

“Aw, man – I mean, there's gotta be a way!” Edwina said.

“Next week, though!” Lil' Robert offered as he walked up. “What's in the box?”

“Nothing yet,” Velma said.

“Well, see, I'm going to be a magician,” Lil' Robert said, “and that looks like a magic box!”

The other eleven children looked at each other.

“I think he's actually got it!” Milton said.

“Hey, Papa!” Edwina said, “it's a magic box so we really do need some glitter!”

“But Eddie, we've got all this great foil!” Glendella said as she reached out and pulled her little sister back.

“Yeah, but, no – we have to maintain minimum standards, and for magic, you gotta have glitter!” Edwina said.

“She's right, you know,” Amanda said. “There's no point in being raised right if you don't live up to the standards.”

“You know if you have a good pair of scissors, you just make your own glitter,” Gracie said as Vertran went back into the house to get the scissors. “You can get more magic shapes that way.”

“That's more like confetti, though,” Edwina said.

“Less likely to get you grounded again after Glittapocalypse Two,” Andrew offered.

“Listen, nobody asked you, Andy!” Edwina said. “I know you are big brothering, but, cut it out!”

“And that's another great thing about foil,” Glendella said. “You can cut it into any shape you want.”

“Maybe we can do some nice flowers, and then, when Papa sees what we're doing, maybe he'll open the cabinet for a little while,” Amanda said.

“Well, maybe,” Edwina said.

And thus the afternoon went on, with all twelve children under 12 years old perfectly occupied.

“Wow,” Mrs. Melissa Trent said. “In an age of high tech, a simple box can do all that!”

“An empty box will always be filled by a child's imagination,” her mother-in-law said. “I'm showing you and Vincent how to step out of being stressed by your genius kids, while giving the Ludlow grandparents and their grown Lee cousins a bit of relief too. We adults think we need high tech. The children don't, and they know we don't. Just let them be human so we can be too.”