KC ‘trophy mom’ and her daughters have year’s best Halloween costumes, internet declares

How do you know when you have a winning Halloween costume?

When ESPN and Ebony magazine want to publish your photo — and when Buzzfeed declares “We Can All Stop Trying Because This Family Just Won Halloween 2016.”

That happened this week to Denise Hill of Kansas City. And it all began when family members tweeted a photo of her with her three daughters dressed as golden trophies.

That photo was taken on Saturday right before they took their annual Halloween portrait.

Hill has dressed her girls in group costumes for years. They’ve done Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood characters, superheroes and Muppets. Last year they dressed as circus people.

“I was the strongman, the oldest was the bearded lady, the middle daughter was the ringleader and the youngest was a clown,” said Hill, who works for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Greater Kansas City.

Halloween sneaked up on her this year — “usually I plan ahead because I’m a planner” — so she searched online for ideas and saw a family dressed like golden sports trophies. It’s an idea that’s become popular in recent years, documented on Instagram and Pinterest pages, and costume websites.

Hill figured she had already nearly everything she needed, which would make the costumes inexpensive and quick to create.

So she spray-painted 5-year-old “diva” Denver’s ballerina tutu.

She spray-painted 8-year-old Aspen’s soccer uniform from last year.

Oldest daughter, Aria Randolph, 15, who ran track in middle school, wore painted running clothes and held a “baton,” which was actually an empty paper towel roll.

Hill dressed as a tennis player.

She hit the panic button when the face paint she’d ordered didn’t come in time for the Saturday photo. So she made a run to U.S. Toy and, guided by a helpful saleswoman in the costume department, learned how to use Mehron body paint.

Family members started sharing that photo on Twitter and Facebook Monday night. By early Tuesday morning, it seemed the whole world had seen it.

Hill knew something big was happening when her daughter texted her from school, asking, “Mama, what did you do?”

Entertainment website The Shade Room posted the photo on its Facebook page, where it has been shared nearly 138,000 times and generated more than 175,000 likes and loves.

Then came Buzzfeed’s declaration that Hill and her family won Halloween this year.

Her youngest kept asking what it meant to go “viral,” and ironically, Hill wasn’t really sure, either.

Turns out this trophy mom doesn’t use social media.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 1:36 PM with the headline "KC ‘trophy mom’ and her daughters have year’s best Halloween costumes, internet declares."