Coolest Halloween Costume Contest Winners 2013

$1,500 in Prizes Awarded

Without a doubt, this was one of the most “Despicable” years for Halloween costume makers! And, if we only had an army of Minions to help us judge this Halloween costume contest, it would have taken much less time.

But, this contest reflects our pride in manually (and not minionly) judging the Web’s largest costume contest. Over 2000 costumes were reviewed one-by-one by each of our judges. We don’t ever get to see the costume in person, so the writeups, photos and videos are what give us the overall “feel” for the costume and costume-maker. We also try to take into account social media and statistical parameters, such as “Likes”, “Shares”, “Repins”, views, comments, and a myriad of others. But, the final decision is made by real, objective human beings and prizes are awarded not to those who have most “Friends” or “Followers”, but to those who, in our judges’ opinion, have an extra spark of inspiration.

$500 Halloween Costume Contest Grand Prize

Capped Crusader by Josh

What better way to start off this year’s Halloween costume contest results then with a 100% recycled costume made entirely of… caps! Josh combined two of his favorite hobbies (drinking beer and collecting beer caps) to put together this unique capped crusader costume for Halloween. Along with his extensive writeup and how-to photos, Josh also shares his personal account of how the idea came about, how he collected 3284 caps from 81 different breweries, and who helped him consume over 330 gallons of beer!

Since creating this crusader costume, his first bottle-cap project, Josh has gone on to come up with innovative techniques for transforming discarded beer, soda and juice bottle caps into original forms of art.

Our judges selected Josh’s costume as this year’s Halloween costume contest winner, citing his supreme craftsmanship, a dedication to share his costume-making knowledge and techniques with others, and his use of recycled materials. Josh got to choose his prize: 500 bottle caps or $500 in cash.

“I think I’ll take the cash if it’s all the same to you,” replied Josh. “With all sappiness aside, this really means a lot to me. It’s one thing when a bunch of drunken people at the bar get excited, but you guys actually take the time to look at more than just what’s on the surface and I really appreciate that. I think the first thing I’ll buy is a decent quality mannequin to display the costume.”

$100 Halloween Costume Contest Prizes

There are so many costumes that deserve a prize in our Halloween costume contest, but, understandably, only a handful could make the final cut. (You’ll find many of those costumes that came very close in our Editors’ Picks section). If you submitted a costume and didn’t win, we hope you understand how genuinely thankful we are to you for sharing your creation with us. You can be sure that your costume and creative energy will serve as inspiration for the millions of people that visit this site throughout the year. And, who knows, maybe one day in the future you’ll hear from us with a surprise cash prize?

Just like Brian from Kansas!

Minion by Brian (Submitted to Last Year’s Contest)

Last year, Brian shared with us one of the very first homemade Minion costumes ever created. His costume made it to the final judging stages, but ultimately didn’t win a prize in our 2012 contest. Back then we didn’t know how popular the Minions would be and what an impact Brian’s costume would have. However, throughout 2013 Brian’s Minion costume was the most viewed costume on our site! Brian eagerly answered comments and questions posted on the costume page and inspired, without a doubt, many of the 70 (!!) “Despicable Me and Minion” costumes submitted to this year’s contest. Brian was awarded a $100 prize.

Puppet Alter Ego by Rob

Normally, you dress up as someone or something else for Halloween. Rob and Gem, however, dressed up as… themselves, only “Muppet-style”. It’s not only an original concept for a costume, but also a great way to come face to foam with your wild and crazy puppet alter ego.

Body Bag Corpse and Coroner by Stacy and Karl

Zombies are so popular nowadays, you seem to run into them on almost every Halloween corner. But on this corner (or rather – Coroner), you’ll find an eerie corpse in a body bag. Stacy, a couple costume enthusiast who shared four of her very creative couple costumes this year, bagged herself (and a prize in our Halloween costume contest) with this dark couple costume.

Sauron by Pam

When Pam’s son asked her to make a Sauron the Dark Lord costume, her immediate answer was “Sure, no problem… What does he look like?” Then she saw Sauron’s picture! After taking a deep breath and committing to keep her word, Pam embarked on an epic costume-making adventure befitting a Tolkien fantasy. Her Dark Lord costume brought a shining light to the eyes of her young Sauron, who has since conquered the realms of Rhode Island and New York.

Despicable Me Family by Jeff

Jeff has been a dedicated contributor to our site. In the past years, his Trasforming Transformer costume and his Father and Son Lego Minifig costumes were serious contenders for a prize in your annual Halloween costume contest, but came up just short. As this year brought an army of Minions trampling through the Halloween scene, we were delighted to receive Jeff’s “Despicable Me” undertaking that brought to life Gru, Dr. Nefario and two delightful Minions and reminded us un-despicable it is to celebrate Halloween as a family.

Monsters Inc. Family by Bobbi

Bobbi got the idea to do a Monsters Inc. family costume when her 2 year old daughter was screaming and she found herself wondering if the lights were going to start flickering. Instead, lightbulbs started flickering in Bobbi’s creative mind. The costumes were completed after two months, endless trips to JoAnn, and a few monster messes in their living room.

$50 Halloween Costume Contest Prizes

Candy Crush by Jacquie

Costumes are often a reflection of cultural trends, and with millions of people crushing candies this year, it was only a matter of time until someone would bring this craze to life. Jacquie shared with us her unique interpretation to the game (with a sexy twist that adds just the right flavor without crossing the border). Her neat DIY video makes creating the costume look much more fun than smashing another row of candies.

MGM Lion by Towani

Sometimes, all you need is a little creative twist to turn your costume idea into a one-of-a-kind creation. Towani’s naturally curly hair was what inspired her to become a lion. But she didn’t want to be just any old lion so a hand-crafted MGM logo added just the right twist to her curls.

Minnie and Mickey Mau5 by Nick

For his epic Halloween costume, Nick decided to combine two characters into one. He took Deadmau5, a famous progressive-house music artist, mixed and synthesized with two famous Disney characters, and the result: A very original progressive-mouse couple costume!

Minion Illusion by Edwin

This isn’t the last Minion you’ll see in our Halloween costume contest winner’s circle, but it is the only Minion that’s carrying a banana box on its head with a real man inside! Edwin’s writeup and photos meticulously document his entire costume-making process and give us goggled-eyed look into how real banana-loving minions are made.

South Park Family by Lynnsey

The “South Park” series has had it’s share of controversies, but there’s no arguing that Lynnsey’s creative interpretation of the main characters is sweet, funny and even family-friendly. To top it off, Lynnsey’s family really live on the South side of a park, and, her daughter’s nicknames are Kyle and Kenni (Kyleigh and Kendall).

Bobcat Stroller by Matt

Dressing up a toddler for Halloween can be tricky. No matter how comfortable the costume is, the little ones get tired of walking rather quickly. So, instead of dressing up his construction-obsessed son in a two-ton outfit, Matt just turned their stroller into a sleek Bobcat and let the little Bobcat operator leisurely dig into the piles of trick-or-treat candy.

Star Wars Dogs by Tiffany

This is a touching story of how Tiffany and her family fell in love with Diego, a Great Dane that had been confined to a dog shelter kennel for years. They took Diego home and when Halloween came around, Tiffany had to come up with a costume idea that incorporated a big black metal muzzle (since Diego wore a muzzle while regaining trust in humans). Darth Vader was a perfect fit and all the rest fell in place for Princess Leia (Nova) and little Yoda (Rose).

$25 Halloween Costume Contest Prizes

Shrunken Head by Greg

Even if you look closely at Greg’s shrunken head, the illusion is still hard to grasp. And the short video just cracked us up! The only items used are face paint, curly wig and sunglasses – which make this costume a perfect option if you are on a shrunken budget.

Adopt Me Cat by Yunlin

Throughout our Halloween costume contest judging, we’re always on the lookout for a costume you can make in minutes and be out the door without spending a dime. Yunlin got a box-full of compliments for her last-minute, zero-cost costume with a neat little twist. As she was leaving the Halloween party, Yunlin just took off the costume and gave it to a “costume-less” girl who was glad to adopt it for the remainder of the party.

Elliot and ET by Jennifer

It’s always an added bonus when you’re wearing a costume and everyone, young and old, know exactly what you intended to be. This costume took Jennifer a few hours to make and cost less than $20 total. After partying all night, Jennifer got to go home with her favorite lovable alien!

Bug Zapper by Melissa

It’s not so clear what sparks a 7-year-old boy to want to be a “Bug Zapper”? (Maybe it’s the sparks…) But Melissa, one of those brave Moms, was up for the challenge. She found no bug zapper costumes online for inspiration, so Melissa just dreamt this costume up herself. While out trick-or-treating, the glowing lights are a plus for visibility and safety (although, be warned that flying witches are likely to crash straight into the zapper!)

That’s it for this year’s Halloween costume contest. Once again, congratulations to all of our 2013 Halloween costume contest winners and a BIG thanks to all of you who shared your costume inspiration. We’d also like to say a special thanks to the 20+ judges who helped us judge this costume contest.

Happy Holidays to you all and don’t forget to submit your costume to This Year’s Halloween Costume Contest…

By Elad Shippony, Tamar and the Coolest Gang

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