LEGO minifigures become the first craze for Our Kent Family

After a hefty three-week end of term break, adventures have been in short supply over the last seven days as we’ve returned to a new term at school and nursery.

But that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen anything of the county having been on an extensive chase across Kent for LEGO people.

Yes, you did read that right.

We've escaped all crazes until now, but five years in and the boy is in the midst of his first craze with series 15 of the LEGO minifigures range.

And as parents, having always vowed to not cave in to said trends despite having been children of decades which produced football and WWF stickers, yoyos, POGS, Beanie Babies and Spokey Dokeys for your bike - which reached a whole new level when you could get them in cereal packets - we have officially and shamefully been sucked in.

And this is despite watching from a very (very) smug distance a year or two ago, friends with daughters conduct illicit swaps on Frozen Panini stickers to complete the hallowed album.

Never have the children been so good at negotiating treats, saving pennies and pounds from relatives or birthday money and perfecting the art of going to bed nicely in the hope of a LEGO person in return at the end of the week.

And never have we seen the inside of so many Kent supermarkets and department stores as we have in the last seven days.

Mostly because series 15, which includes knights, farmers, mythical figures and royalty, is about to be replaced with series 16 – Disney figures – and so the clock is ticking.

Now I’m sure the name of the game is to grab a little orange packet of surprise and cross your fingers for one you don’t have or find a willing soul to swap with should you get a double.

But I live in a house of small people and, as other parents will know, they don’t always take disappointment well and their logic can be slightly out of whack.

And while they don’t want doubles they don’t always seem keen on passing them over either. Go figure.

So cue a lot of manhandling, poking, fiddling and prodding of LEGO packets and a lot of time spent in supermarket aisles discussing whether the crinkly outline you can feel is the tutu of a ballerina or the teeth of a shark man.

You would not want to confuse the two, trust me.

Who knew bonding with complete strangers could take place on a supermarket shopfloor as you attempt to help comrades find the figures they’re after.

It started with a desire to collect number 13 in the set – which although unlucky for some – is the much desired blue LEGO shark suit man.

But having successfully laid our fins on him and a few others along the way, then came wishes for knights and astronauts – the latter unsurprising from a kid mad on space and still dining out on a birthday message from Tim Peake.

We’re now after number 15 – Jewel Thief – also affectionately known as ‘spy girl’ amongst our little people although I’m not really sure why.

We have five days.

Wish me luck.