The main thing that makes "couples" Halloween costumes successful is, of course, a common theme. Here are some I've seen at Halloween parties or done myself, and no, I won't tell you which costume fits which category!

The first idea, of course, is famous couples in history. Julius Caesar and Cleopatra. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. George and Martha Washington. If you have friends who just happen to be Civil War re-enactors, or just love the idea of wearing sweeping hoopskirts (which make bathroom trips reeeealy interesting. I'm just sayin') Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe. Joe Dimaggio and Marilyn Monroe. Playwright Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe...you get the picture.

If history isn't your thing, how about the movies? Rhett and Scarlett (see bathroom warning re: hoopskirts, above). Get a couple of trenchcoats and a man's and woman's fedora and go as Rick and Ilsa from Casablanca. Rent a tuxedo and buy a fancy gown at a thrift store and goes as James Bond and Pussy Galore. If you or your husband just happen to be in the Navy, how about Richard Gere and Debra Winger at the end of An Officer and a Gentleman? It'd be a really funny twist if you're the one in whites and your husband is the one in scuzzy factory-worker clothes. How about you both dress up in dark suits and bowler hats and go as Laurel and Hardy? Or Godzilla and Mothra? King Kong and Fay Wray? Or Roy Rogers and Dale Evans?

Cartoon character couples are also fun. How about Mickey and Minnie Mouse? Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd? Winnie the Pooh and Piglet? If you have kids, they'll probably get a real laugh out of mom and dad dressing up as some of their favorite characters.

A quick trip to your local thrift store for some vintage clothes, and you, too can recreate famous TV couples from your childhood: Gomez and Morticia Addams, Mike and Carol Brady, Lucy and Desi, Howard and Marion Cunningham. If there's an army surplus store in your area, it shouldn't be hard to turn yourselves into Frank Burns and Margaret Houlihan from M*A*S*H.

Or, you could both just dress up as if you were going to a 50's sock hop, or like hippies from the 1960's, or in (god help us) disco gear. Or as fans of an '80s hair band. There's also the classic tried-and true Two Person Horse, which is always good for a laugh, especially if you keep strategically dropping unpeeled potatoes every once in a while from the back half of the horse (trust me, after a drink or two, this is really funny)! Or go as pink flamingo lawn ornaments. Or those awful kissing Dutch children lawn ornaments -- at least you'd have an excuse to kiss your spouse a lot during the party!

I have, of course, saved the best -- and easiest -- suggestion for last. I swear I didn't do this one, but I've seen it and it was hilarious. The costume consisted of two dark brown rectangular cloth tunics, very straight, just two seams each. The word "HERSHEY'S" was painted on hers with silver paint. The words "HERSHEY'S with nuts" was painted on his. I think you get the picture.

Happy Halloween!