Taste test scorecard

Halloween costume contest categories and award ideas

Every award you add is one more thing to judge and one more vote to count. Below are twelve costume awards. Each entry says what it rewards, whether judges or the room should decide it, and where it tends to go wrong. Pick the few that fit your party and put them in the invitation, so people dress for them.

The score sheet, the numbered parade and the phone vote are on the costume contest judging page. This page covers what to hand out.

The classic five

These five are the awards most contests start with. If you only pick three, pick from here.

Scariest

Rewards the costume that gets a reaction: makeup, a mask, a slow walk. A room vote taken right after the parade suits it, since fright is a gut response and a score sheet flattens it. It favors the biggest and loudest costumes, and gore is a different thing from scary. Ask voters whether they would jump.

Funniest

Rewards a joke that lands without an explanation. A room vote suits it because laughter is the test. An inside joke wins its own department and nobody else's, so at a mixed party let a panel from different teams decide, or count only the votes of people who got it.

Most original

Rewards an idea nobody else had, whether or not it is well made. Judges decide this one, because voters may lean toward a costume they already know. Count a twist on a known character as original and a plain store-bought version as not.

Best homemade

Rewards hours of work: sewing, painting, cardboard engineering. Judges look up close, so plan a few minutes of inspection after the parade. Draw the line in advance. A thrift-store jacket with a hand-painted back counts; a shop costume with a new hat does not. Best store-bought is the matching award at a small party, since it gives the other half of the room something to win.

Best pop culture

Rewards accuracy to a movie, show, game or meme. Judges who know the source decide it, since the details are the point. A room vote only works when the crowd shares the references, which is rare at an office with three generations in it.

Awards for groups and pairs

Best group

Rewards pieces that only make sense together, like a box of crayons or a full set of playing cards. Set a size band, such as three to six people, so a whole department in matching T-shirts does not win by headcount. A group walks as one entry and gets one number on the ballot.

Best couple

Rewards two costumes that complete each other. Worth adding at a party where many people come in pairs, and not worth it at an office. Without it, pairs compete with groups of five and lose, which is a common complaint.

Easiest group costume

Rewards the cheapest, quickest idea that still works, such as everyone wearing the same wig. It is a good joke award for a big party where the elaborate groups would otherwise take everything, and it gives the low-effort group a reason to turn up.

Awards for craft and detail

Best makeup

Rewards face and body work, including prosthetics. Judge it in the same light for everyone, because makeup that looks sharp under a lamp goes flat in a dim hallway. Skip it if only two or three people paint their faces.

Best prop

Rewards one made or modified item: a working lightsaber, a cardboard time machine. Pair it with a safety rule. Real or realistic-looking weapons stay at home, and anything that moves gets a look from the host first.

Awards decided by the whole room

People's choice

Rewards the costume most people liked best overall. Run it as a secret vote on numbered entries, one ballot per person, so friends cannot see who voted for whom. It is the one award where I would let everybody vote, and it keeps the panel's picks from looking like an insider decision. Keep it a separate prize so one costume cannot win both a panel award and this one.

Most committed

Rewards the person who stays in character all night, with the voice, the walk and the answers to small talk. Nobody can judge it at the start, so announce it last. Ask a few guests to watch for it and collect their picks during the evening.

How many awards for how many people

These bands are my suggestion after reading how other contests set theirs. Kids' contests often add a cutest award or split by age, for example 5 and under, 6 to 12, and teens. At a work party, add a one-line rule that costumes must be appropriate for the office and must not mock a group of people.

Rules that save an argument later

• Let each costume win one award only. If the scariest costume also wins most original, the next one down gets it. Say so before the party.
• State who decides each award in the invitation: panel, host or room vote.
• Judges and the host can enter for fun but not for prizes.
• Decide what happens on a tie. On the phone scorecard the entry with more ratings is listed first when averages match; the chili cook-off page lists tie-breaks for the rest.

Related guides

• Halloween costume contest judging: the score sheet, a numbered parade and the vote.
• Pumpkin carving contest judging: lit pumpkins, carved and painted classes.
• Trunk-or-treat contest judging: decorated cars with a crowd walking by.
• All judging guides