It's not every day I get to host a contest or competition.... well, at least not every month. I could not believe my luck when I was selected by the General Manager to host a Halloween costume contest. Literally, the reason why I was assigned to host and judge, was because I have a nice phone that takes good pictures. He has the same phone as me. Samsung S20... Okay, mine is the ultra model with 6 cameras total, but would it hurt the man to just say that I have done a good job hosting previous events at work? He's not the most festive person, but he did want a nice event.
I was given little sign-up sheets and two display-sized boxes of Halloween-themed Peeps, one box of pumpkins and one of ghosts. I had asked the night before if I was allowed to give these away, as we were originally holding these special order candy for trick-or-treaters at the mall this arcade is in. It was somewhat last minute when we received an email stating that the mall's trick-or-treat event was canceled due to our current Covid restrictions. We weren't going to use it, so why not give them to all who came to the arcade dressed up!
The process was enjoyable as well. I would scope out people and children in costumes, and approach them or their parents to ask if they would like to participate in our contest, especially mentioning that there was a prize, a $50 arcade game card! After signing up, I would snap the photo (some retakes here and there) and I would then give our awesome contestants their Halloween treats. Afterward, I would take a marker and write the number they were for photo taking on their signup, and rename the image their entry number! I wanted the event as simple as possible... and it was. All was smooth sailing... until I saw the one. There was one costume that really stood out to me. Their parents wanted to play games and declined my offer. I was really bummed out about it... But then, their friends managed to convince them since their own two children had already entered. Then the parents learned about the prize and decided why not.
That ended up being an excellent decision as the entire staff was blown away at how adorable they looked with their costume on. A beautiful little strawberry, with a cute stem hat, and little strawberry crocs. It was a cuteness overload! Everyone agreed, so I called the parents up today. The father answered and seemed somewhat apprehensive (most likely due to this phone call from a number he didn't recognize), I got to hear his voice go from distant to overjoyed when he learned that his child won!
I'm very glad that I chose to wear a costume, looking back, I think that a normal-dressed employee would be terrifying. Like where is your Halloween spirit! I was also somewhat shy during the contest, several people were commenting about me being pretty, and wondering if I was cosplaying a Genshin Impact character. More than 1 person asked me this, and I wasn't even mad. The characters in the game look amazing! It's an anime-styled multiplayer RPG. I almost want to get back into playing... almost.
But there you have it! It was a great day altogether. Quick thinking, and simplifying the process made it fun to participate in, and even though I had to work that day, could I really call it working if I genuinely enjoyed it?