The World As I See It...: Miss Ghetto America

You probably already know this but Miss America is a BIG deal for my family and I. Growing up, I always watched the pageant with my mom and sister, and then when I was 17 I found myself competing on the Miss America stage as Miss Delaware...It still boggles my mind that I was there! Five years ago, I was inspired by my husband's fantasy football league and created my family's fantasy pageant, the Miss Ghetto America pageant. This thing has developed a life of it's own. We look forward to it all year long! I have gotten a ton of requests to know how we do it so I will try to be as specific as I can in this blog. It's going to be a long one folks...

My husband is the sole owner of our basement. This is were his "man cave" is. I generally keep out of it but once a year for the Miss America party I completely take it over and transform it into the "Pink Palace". I take down all of his Eagles/Phillies decorations and decorate it in pink and with Miss America gear (it's a tough week for my hubby).

This is the stairs leading into the "Pink Palace." The wall is lined with pictures from past MGA competitions.

The 8x10's are our "formers".

Some of the prizes

We always kick off the event with a champagne toast...

The official Champagne of MGA 2012

I set up a table that has index cards with all of the contestant photographs on them. Each card also lists the contestant's name, title, age, talent and platform (yea...I spend an embarrassing amount of time on this). We then draw numbers to determine our draft order. When your draft number comes up you go to the table and pick a contestant. We repeat this process until all contestants are picked.

Draft table

Me with my 2012 picks! Let's get em girls...

One of the best parts of the party is the "official junk food feast". Everyone brings something fattening to munch on and we declare all dishes fat-free for the evening.

The junk food feast...all fat free;-)

One of the most important parts of the event is that everyone must be comfy! We usually have a sweat pants or jammies only rule. Last year we made t-shirts for the event. This year everyone got a uniform...a customized Forever Lazy. We may all look like we weigh 500lbs but we sure were comfy!!

Our nicknames on the back of our Forever Lazies:-)

Each contestant is also awarded a tiara and sash with their "local title". This year we had: Miss Morning Sickness Mama, Miss Can't Fold Em Milford, Miss iPhone Addict, Miss Moonshine Mama and Miss Prison Guard Princess. The titles usually make fun of each individuals personality or "issues".

Little Miss America and Miss iPhone Addict

On the back of every index card there is a sticky note with that state written on it. As they call the top 15 on the telecast, each Miss Ghetto America contestant takes the sticky note off of the back of the card (as the girl is called) and place it on the official competition board. From there on out anytime a contestant is eliminated from the competition her sticky note is removed from the board.

The Top 15. It looks like I have it in the bag doesn't it?

Kelly, Miss Can't Fold Em Milford, won a Top 15 prize:-)

Each MGA contestant is eliminated when she has no more contestants on the board. This year was crazy because all 5 of us had one girl in the Top 5...what are the odds of that?! The first MGA contestant to be eliminated must wear the Cool Whip Loser crown.

The 2012 Cool Whip Crown Winner...Miss Can't Fold Em Milford!!!!

Whomever has the new Miss America is crowned Miss Ghetto America. Miss Ghetto America wins a crown, sash, scepter, a t-shirt and most importantly bragging rights for an entire year. And believe me...our winners do brag all year!!!

The 2012 winner is announced...

This year, my mom won the title...For the second year in a row!!!! Let's just say that the rest of us were not exactly good sports:-) I should also mention that I was second RU. I have been competing in this darn pageant for 5 years now and have NEVER done better than second RU. Are you kidding me?!?! Next year...