mcl6136, your thread rings a bell with me as I started one a long time ago on exactly the same topic! Here it is, called "bringing props to therapy":
http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=108764

I do like to bring props to therapy. They spark discussion, like a conversation piece. I have brought poems, books (most lately textbooks to show T what I am taking at school), a school assignment, photos, even an artifact from a car accident. T seems to like it when I bring things in and always looks at them with interest and is eager to hear my story.

He sometimes shares props with me too, which I like. Kind of like show and tell.