Normally this post would focus on my Halloween party, and I'd show you a ton of party picture, but this year the party happened virtually, so I don't have any pictures to share. Originally I had been hoping to have an outdoor, socially distanced event with just close family, but with the weather forecast predicting chilly temps, two days before the event I moved the whole thing to Zoom. Even though it was virtual, we still had our annual costume contest. I won "best costume" for my Little Red Riding Hood look, while Jacob won "most creative costume" for his "guy who stuck into Area 51 and stole an alien" look. Sadly, I do not have pictures, but I'll leave it to your imagination. Anyway, here's how to make the trophies, plus some tips on holding an online costume contest.
Witch Cat Trophy
Materials:
*Cat figurine
*Jar lid
*Black paint
*Red paint
*Paintbrush
*Hot glue
*Fabric
*Sewing needle
*Thread
*Scissors
*Printed or handwritten trophy label
*Purple cardstock
Directions:
*Glue the cat figurine to the jar lid.
*Paint the cat and lid black. Let dry.
*Paint the cat's eyes red.
*Cut out a scrap of fabric for the cat's cape.
*Gather the top using a needle and thread. Tie the string around the cat's neck.
*Construct a mini witch hat from cardstock. I took a witch hat template and shrunk it down small, then printed it and cut the pieces from cardstock. I used glue and a little decorative thread to hold the hat together.
*Glue the hat to the cat's head.
*Write or print a label for your trophy and glue it to the jar lid.
Vampire Cat Trophy
Materials:
*Cat figurine
*Jar lid
*Black paint
*Red paint
*White paint
*Paintbrush
*Hot glue
*Fabric
*Sewing needle
*Thread
*Scissors
*Written or printed label
Directions:
*Glue the cat figurine to the jar lid.
*Paint the cat and lid black. Let dry.
*Paint the cat's eyes red.
*Paint on little white fangs.
*Cut out a scrap of fabric for the cat's cape.
*Gather the top using a needle and thread. Tie the string around the cat's neck.
*Write or print a label for your trophy and glue it to the jar lid.
Virtual Costume Contest
Holding the costume contest online turned out to be relatively straightforward. At the start of the party, people took turns explaining their costumes. I used Google Forms to create a survey where people could vote on the costumes. I had never used Google Forms before, but I found it pretty intuitive. In place of a question, I wrote out the costume category, e.g., "Best Costume." For the options, I added each person's name as well as their costume. There was also an option to add pictures, so you could ask your party guests to send in a picture of their costume in advance and add those pictures to the form. That way, if, say, you have two Draculas, your guests would be more easily able to pick out which one they were trying to vote for. The votes were automatically counted by the form, so it was easy for me to see who was the winner in each category.
As for the trophies, my siblings ended up coming up for a visit the following weekend, so I was able to hand off Jacob's trophy. However, had they not been able come up, I was planning on sending little "scare packages" with some spooky goodies, including the trophies.
Are you planning on hosting a virtual Halloween celebration? I'd love to hear how it went, or any tips you have for making your virtual Halloween party a success.
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