Avery Williams decided to get in the Christmas spirit a little early this year.

Dressed as the popular Elf on the Shelf, the 9-year-old Seymour girl’s costume included a cardboard box covered in wrapping paper to look like bricks with a fireplace, a string of Christmas lights, snowflake ornaments, stockings with her family’s initials on them, a plate of cookies for Santa, a couple of gift boxes and two candles.

The costume made an impression on the three judges of the Seymour Evening Lions Club’s annual Halloween costume contest Monday night in the American Legion Annex parking lot.

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She not only won the age 7 to 9 category, but she also won the sweepstakes title out of the winners of the nine categories.

“I might have thought maybe second, maybe first (in her age group), but I didn’t think I would get first overall,” Avery said after the event.

She thought the judges picked her because she built the costume herself and didn’t just buy it.

“Try your hardest and really get into detail. That will help,” she said.

At home around Christmas, elves Snowflake and Mistletoe and reindeer Snowball visit the Williams home.

“We like them a lot, and we thought it would be cool to be a little Elf on the Shelf,” Avery said of coming up with a costume.

“We wait all year for them to come, and it’s amazing, so we thought we love them so much, this is a perfect idea,” her mother, Kylinda Williams, said. “We had the stockings with initials. We tried to think it all the way through. I love it. I thought it turned out good. (Avery) did most of it. She had the great ideas. I helped tape some of it together.”

Avery won her age category when she was a toddler, won the best group with her younger sister, Ansley, one year and placed third in her age group another time.

“It’s really nice for the experience. It was really fun to see the costumes,” Avery said of Monday’s events, which also included Seymour Main Street’s Downtown Trick or Treat and the Seymour Evening Lions Club’s Halloween parade.

The costume contest kicked off with 14-month-old Alaina Maxie winning the age 2 and under category.

She dressed as a chicken in an outfit made by her grandmother, Lisa Wheeler.

“I’ve just always seen that on Facebook and thought it was cute, so I wanted to do it,” Alaina’s mother, Mahala Maxie, said of going with a chicken costume. “We just put boas together on the white stuff and the rubber gloves for the shoes.”

While winning was a bonus, Mahala said it was just a fun night out with her family. It was her first time attending the events and the same for Alaina’s great-grandmother, Sandra Colvin.

“It’s really fun, a really neat event. It’s fun to see what all of the kids come up with and what they like to do. It’s a nice thing to do in the community,” Mahala said.

“It gets people downtown to know what’s downtown when you have something like this,” Wheeler said.

Phoebe Cornett, 4, of Seymour won the age 3 and 4 category. She dressed like Amelia Earhart and wore a cardboard pink airplane.

Earhart was known for her bright yellow plane named The Canary, but Phoebe decided to paint her plane her favorite color.

Her father, Keegan Cornett, built the plane using cardboard, hot glue, wires, screws, rulers and tape. Phoebe helped paint it pink.

The wind blew her plane around some Sunday and she lost a wheel Monday night, but Phoebe still came up with a winning costume.

“It has to go in the shop for repairs, doesn’t it?” her mother, Brittani Cornett, jokingly said after the contest.

Phoebe and her parents were excited about the big win.

“I didn’t think it was going to win,” Keegan said.

“He’s really creative, though, when it comes to these ideas,” Brittani said. “A couple of years ago, we did a cardboard boombox. He can just take cardboard and make stuff out of it.”

They also thought the downtown events were great.

“I think it brings a lot of different people out and gives you a sense of community,” Brittani said. “It’s just fun seeing all of the kids dress up. It’s really neat to see everybody’s different ideas.”

This was the 12th year for Downtown Trick or Treat. More than 30 businesses participated.

Sheila Ortman sat inside the lobby of the Seymour Police Department handing out candy with Stephanie Newcomb.

Ortman is known for Halloween being her favorite holiday.

“Everybody gets to be who they want to be,” she said. “There’s a little creepy and a little fairy in everybody, and you get to pick what you want to be.”

With Ortman dressed as a hippie and Newcomb dressed as a cat, they handed out bags with chocolate candy, a pencil, a police badge sticker and a glow-in-the-dark bracelet inside.

“We get lots of kids that don’t get to get out any other time,” Ortman said of the downtown event. “They are not going out to strangers’ houses, and it’s usually during the daylight, so it’s safe.”

Yesica Zuniga, a manager at La Mexicana, sat outside the store on West Second Street handing out candy.

“We’re trying to spread our business and our ethnicity through Halloween here,” she said. “We’re definitely trying to take every opportunity to communicate with our clientele and pass out our menus, too.”

Plus, she said the event is a good chance to see a variety of costumes.

“Some of them are definitely questionable, but the other ones are very cutesy,” she said, smiling. “Different diversity, variety that each costume brings, I think it’s great.”

A block away, Mary and Terry Campbell stood behind a table inside Ideal Barber Shop dressed in Batman costumes.

This was Terry’s second straight year donning the black and yellow outfit, but it was Mary’s first time dressing up for the occasion.

“He’s like, ‘I don’t want to dress up by myself,’” Mary said. “We do it at Hardy Lake, as well, with the kids, which was the last two weekends.”

Terry said he likes seeing the kids smiling and having a good time, and Mary said it’s a safe event for families.

“It’s good for the downtown,” she said. “It’s just really enjoyable. It’s safe. Great weather for it. It’s fabulous and great for the community. It really is.”

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Brownstown/Ewing Main Street’s second Halloween costume parade and contest is at 5:45 p.m. today.

It starts at McDonald’s and continues on North Main Street to the Jackson County Courthouse.

All participants will receive a trick or treat bag beforehand and receive refreshments to follow, all donated by McDonald’s.

After the parade, there will be a costume contest in four divisions: Ages 3 and under, ages 4 through 6, ages 7 through 9 and ages 10 through 12.

Residential trick or treating is from 6 to 8 p.m. today in Brownstown, Crothersville, Medora and Seymour.

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Winners of the Seymour Evening Lions Club’s Halloween costume contest

2 and under: Alaina Maxie

3 and 4: Phoebe Cornett

5 and 6: Reed Barlow

7 to 9: Avery Williams

10 to 13: Olivia Madden

14 to 20: Jacob Bowman

21 and over: Sara Blubaugh

Best pet: Luke, owned by Bridgett Taylor

Best group: Noel Roll, Clara Roll, Reiko Sasaki and Elliana Collman

Sweepstakes: Avery Williams

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