The best part of celebrating Halloween used to be all about candy when we were kids, but now that you are grown up, the real fun begins that kids have yet to find out about.
Adult costumes can range from the low key Movie Theater Floor (a few candy wrappers taped to your clothes) to a full out Buzz Lightyear set complete with sound effects and blinking laser beam lights.
And if getting dressed up is the best part of the fun that comes each year at the end of October, then a big bonus is when adult costume parties have contests that include prizes and various categories.
The trick with these extravaganzas is figuring out how to win, and knowing that regardless of the outcome, a great evening with a lot of good times will come easy.
Winning a costume contest requires several key criteria.
First, the costume must be easy to understand.
Second, the person wearing it should be able to pull off the serious or hilarious aspect of wearing it.
And last, it should be bold.
Regarding the first part of how to win a contest at an adult costume party, people should be able to look at a clown and say, 'hey, great clown costume.
' If no one knows what the heck you are supposed to be, then it will be next to impossible to win.
You'll still have a great time between stealing a dance with Marilyn Monroe and boozing it up with Winston Churchill, but some of it will be lost if you decide on donning a costume with a cool fog machine that surrounds you at the push of a button after the fortieth time someone asks, 'so, what are you supposed to be?' and you explain, 'I'm all that confuses you.
' 'Cool,' they will say, right before rolling their eyes as they walk away and you try to hit them with another blast of fog only to find you are too late.
This is not to say that adult costume partiers should not be creative.
Creativity is another part of being able to win.
So, one should dress up as a made up character if they wish to, but within creativity should be a costume of someone or something people have some level of familiarity with.
After all, this is a one night costume party, not the start of an epic series of novels.
One last part to this is that while some people can pull off certain public figures, there is a limit to when they will have the most appeal.
For example, if a local politician or sports star is in the midst of a scandal, then going to the party as that person can be very funny.
While some people, such as internationally known figures like Michael Jordan and North Korean dictator Kim Jong il, will be recognized by most people, others will only be known briefly and by a specialized group.
Knowing when to be who or what can increase everyone's enjoyment, and the chances of being crowned when the votes are tallied up.
Next, the costume one wears must be something that can be pulled off in either a very genuine way, or a very funny way.
For example, a 300 pound midfielder would not make the best Edgar Allen Poe, but he could make for a funny Tinkerbell.
Similarly, a dwarf could pull off a great Superman or basketball player.
Someone who is overweight might not make the best Posh Spice unless he or she has a twist that would lead to the character being over the edge due to a scandal going on in the media.
This relates to the previous tip in that if you have to explain to people what or who you are supposed to be, it is the same as having to let people know when you are telling a joke.
It is just not as good when they figure it out after being told what they would have been better off knowing beforehand.
And the last part of being the star of an adult costume party, and winning the contest, is to be bold.
A great costume stands out and is deadly accurate.
Not only should the person be the appropriate height, weight, and age, but they should also be able to pull it off in a fantastic way.
This can involve having professionally done make-up, building a robot or cyborg costume with blinking lights, a unique helmet or mask, and mock tubes, wires, and hydraulics, or by bringing accessories that stand out like a microphone for those who are Elvis Presley or Wayne Newton, or a camera for a couple going as a harassing Paparazzi photographer and movie star.
For the latter costume, it can serve as a great way to get photos to friends later, which will be even more fun because while everyone is caught up in the moment of their "fake photo shoot" they'll be unsuspectingly giving the greatest shots of an incredible soiree.
When the contest is won, it may not matter to some what the prize is, but prizes are worth caring about as they can be hundreds of dollars in cash, cool electronics, or gift cards to a spa or other awesome business.
And when it is won, it will have been done so because the costume was recognizable, believable, and bold.
But win, lose, or draw, the great time to be had at an adult costume party is the real prize, and those who win are those who go with the right frame of mind that a great time with good friends, decent food and drinks, lots of laughs, and a climactic evening or fun and games is the best one can hope for.
The winning is just a minor bonus beyond all of the best parts.