OK, the bad news first. Montgomery Patch had 19 very creative entries in our Halloween costume contest, but none of them were picked to move on to the next round.

But don’t despair! You guys were fantastic during this contest. There were nearly 2700 entries in all, and 18 local costumes put Montgomery Patch among the top 15 in terms of response across all of Patch’s 850-some sites. That’s great, and I really appreciate it.

And we got some adorable entries, from Caiden McDougall in his cow costume; to Amber, Aiden and Sophia Conner, dressed as Dr. Frankenstein, his monster, and the monster’s bride, respectively; to Kiana and James Bolleyer, decked out as a vampires and Mario’s brother Luigi; to Joshua and Julianna Lampman, in marvelous mummy costumes.

Really, they were all great. Check them out for yourself here. 

The southwest suburbs did score a pair of finalists: these KISS kids from Darien and an amazing 10-foot-tall man costume from St. Charles. Both of them will get $1,031 donated to the charity of their choice—the KISS kids’ money will go to the Will County Humane Society, and the 10-foot-tall man will send his donation to Autism Speaks.

The overall winner of the contest, chosen by Heidi Klum, was this extraordinary headless boy outfit from Wyckoff, New Jersey.

This is the first time we’ve tried something like this, and the response was fantastic. Sincere thanks to everyone who entered, and who shared photos of their kids enjoying Halloween. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Patch is nothing without you. And you’ve made this local editor really happy.

Until next Halloween, thanks again.