"It's the fact that nobody has to worry about fitting in because it doesn't matter what you look like," she said, " ... and nothing you do on Halloween is considered too 'out there.' "

Many agree.

A survey of nearly 1,000 adults from the United States and Canada showed 40 percent of the participants named "being someone else" as their favorite part about Halloween, followed by the parties and candies, at 24 percent each. The survey was done by Savers Inc., a chain of high-end thrift stores and a popular stop for inexpensive Halloween costumes.

We asked Advertiser readers to share photos of their favorite getups from Halloweens past with us, and they came to us in droves: looking like a can of Bud Light, a pint-sized Kikaida, a golf ball and tee, and a forkful of spaghetti, to name a few.

From dozens of submissions, we chose three of our favorites and five honorable mentions. We hope these photos get you into the Halloween spirit. No tricks, just our treat:

Cutest Keiki

The Driver family of Kaimuki had a little dress-up day after rummaging through old Halloween costumes, including this floral getup worn by Zoie, 18 months. Kathy Driver

Driver sent two photos of Zoie in this costume; one with Zoie smiling, which Driver titled "blooming flower," and the one pictured, which she called "wilting flower." Despite the face, mom insists baby wasn't pouting.

"I think she was just looking down, then she happened to look up," Kathy Driver said.

Whatever she was doing, it worked for us.

Best Couple

Robert Tsuhako and Suzanne Raper roamed the streets of Waikiki last Halloween as Nintendo darlings Mario and Princess Peach. The Honolulu couple married Oct. 23. Rae Oshiro

The Honolulu couple, who married Oct. 23, dressed up as Beetlejuice and Lydia (Winona Ryder's character) for Halloween 2002. Last year they "wanted something a little more cute and cartooney," said Suzanne Tsuhako, 26, a business banking officer.

Since both grew up playing the popular Nintendo game, it was a no-brainer.

"All of the people in Waikiki just ate it up," Suzanne Tsuhako said.

She and her now-husband, a customer service employee, 29, made their costumes with pieces they bought at Savers, Goodwill and eBay.

While their getups in 2002 and last year were hits, they won't be dressing up this year, unless you count "newlywed couple" as a costume, she said. They're still honeymooning in Orlando, Fla.

Most Creative:

Madeline Gangnes transformed herself into Sally, leading lady of "The Nightmare Before Christmas," for Halloween last year. She says the best part about Halloween is dressing up. Byron Gangnes

Madeline, who was 16 at the time and a senior at St. Francis School, turned to her mother for a little help in creating the character from one of her favorite movies.

"She picked the fabrics and I helped her sew the costume, all done by hand," e-mailed her mom, Hilary Benson Gangnes, of downtown Honolulu. "Madeline did her own makeup."

Coincidentally, Madeline also won for "Most Creative Costume" at her school costume contest.

This year, Madeline — now 17 and a freshman at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. — has opted for the superhero route and will dress up as comic book character The Black Cat, from the Spider-Man series.

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):

• Wesley Isabella Mae Calzo, 10 months old, of Honolulu, posed earlier this month as a leopard cub among her "Lion King" stuffed animals. Wesley celebrates her first Halloween tonight.

• Enson Miyakado, 1, of the University of Hawai'i area, got a head start on Halloween, trying on this puppy outfit in August. Enson, a mere 2 weeks old last Halloween, gets to dress up for the first time tonight.

• Kaleo Palimoo, 1, dressed up as King Kamehameha — complete with a canoe — at a Halloween costume contest at Halawa District Park gym in 2002. Kaleo, now 3, of Pauoa, won the "Most Original Costume" category for his age group.

• Sauer siblings Hanna, 5; Jacob, 2; and Delaney, 8, of Schofield Barracks, hammed it up last Halloween as Snow White, Elvis and an American Indian, respectively. We especially liked then-1-year-old Jacob as The King, with his slicked-back hair and toddler-sized Elvis jumpsuit.

• 'Ele'ele residents Rachel Umetsu, 10, and brother Randy, 14, donned costumes last Halloween of cartoon favorites SpongeBob SquarePants and Spider-Man, respectively. Mom Donna Umetsu, who made the costumes herself, proudly noted she bought every piece of the SpongeBob getup at her local Salvation Army thrift store.