I think I'm about to attend my last Book Week parade.

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My son is in year 6 and his parade is on Tuesday. (Not officially in Book Week, but a crafty strategy by the school, I'm sure, to give us all an extra weekend to get ready.)

My daughter is in year 10 and they still do Book Week costumes at her school, which I love. As kids get older, they seem to like dressing up in groups, as if there's safety in numbers. Like a bunch of Where's Wallys or a gaggle of Minions. They just don't do parades in high school.

(What I don't love is my daughter telling me the night before that she needs to go as a Smurf the next day for this year's Book Week, which was on Friday. And after I start to melt down, she also sends me a reel of comedian Tim Collins as an unhinged mum also being told the night before that Book Week is the next day.

"It's nine o'clock? Where am I going to get a Gollum costume at this hour?......Here, I've just cut two holes in my good sheets. You can go as Casper the Friendly Ghost...."

So funny. Well, not at the time. But later.

Anyway, the solution for the Smurf costume was a rush trip to get a blue T-shirt from Kmart as soon as the doors opened at 8am on Friday. She teamed that with some white pants and her friend brought her a white beanie to wear. Phew.)

To be honest, with more time and notice, I've actually loved helping my kids with their Book Week costumes, especially when they were younger and more malleable. Meaning, I could get them to go as........

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