People believe that I am super into Halloween, when in reality I am just super into costumes. Thus, whenever my work Halloween costume competition comes around, I like to go all out.

This year I used an idea I’ve had brewing for a couple of years now, but for whatever reason changed at the last minute. However, it was finally time. I wanted my Most Creative Costume title back, so I knew I had to bring out the big guns. And thus, my friends and I were The Price is Right.

This was a fairly easy costume to put together for the most part. The contestants were a piece of cake to make. It’s simply painted posterboard with green painter’s tape creating the border. I handprinted the numbers on. Most of the stuff I used I already had onhand so it was also a fairly cheap costume to put together,

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The original costume idea included a Plinko board, which was a challenge to get started with, but once I got into the groove of it, it was actually quite fun to create. I used a second large posterboard and attempted to follow a picture to get the paint right. My original idea was to have the board be playable but there just wasn’t time in the end to make that happen.

However, it did have actual pegs. I found the little wooden dowels on Amazon and I just hot glued them on. I cut a triangle out of paper to help with the placement, but otherwise there wasn’t anything particularly scientific about this costume.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The wheel was a late addition to the costume. I got a phone call one morning saying we had a volunteer to play the wheel. The problem? We hadn’t planned for a wheel. So a few of us got together and brainstormed how to create the wheel. An Amazon box came to the rescue, as it made the perfect wheel shape without us even trying. All we had to do was rig it so that it would stand up correctly.

• 

• 

• 

• 

Once the wheel was structurally sound, it was time to paint it and add the numbers. I alternated green and black paint and we printed the numbers out and cut them from different colored paper.

• 

• 

The wheel was by far the bulkiest part of the costume, but our wheel was a champ during the morning Halloween breakfast (yes, we all gather in the auditorium to have breakfast and see each other’s costumes):

As Halloween drew closer, we added even more to the costume. We decided to add a model (which became my part; I was originally going to be Bob Barker) and a prize: the car! I don’t have any pictures of the main g of the car as I entrusted one of my group mates with the task! I am normally not a good delegator when it comes to costumes, as I always want to do everything myself. But this year there was too much going on, and so it was really helpful that someone else was able to do it.

Everything else was a little finishing touch. I asked all the contestants to wear a shirt that matched their number board, but they were all free to decorate it however they wanted. One says “I came all the way from Malta to meet Bob,” while another says “Shh! Don’t tell my boss I’m on the Price is Right.” I don’t know how noticeable the shirts were, but it was definitely a nice touch!

My model costume was a cheap gold dress from Amazon and a wig. I was called Vanna White a lot all day, but that’s okay! (Little secret: the dress was so long it’s hiding the fact that I’m wearing sneakers.)

And of course, what would The Price is Right be without the tiny microphone? I actually made it from craft wire and a black makeup sponge that I cut the end off of! It was so perfect, and so insanely easy.

• 

• 

And now for the final result. Here we all are together:

AND… WE WON! We got the Most Creative Costume title, which is my favorite one to win. It was awesome to get the title back, especially since I’m pretty sure I’m going solo next year… more on that later!