It wouldn't be the Daytime Emmys (or any award show for that matter) without a gift lounge. The gift lounge is shopper heaven; it's a room full of little booths hosted by attentive representatives. You (in this case, you the daytime actor) go from display to display, picking things you'd like, putting them in a large tote bag with wheels and then go home. There's no checkout line because no money is transacted. That's why it's called a GIFT lounge. Shemar Moore (Malcolm, Y&R;) was so thrilled to be there, he proclaimed his middle name was "Free."

Coordinated by On 3 Productions, there was a wide variety of gifts. The most popular? For many actors it was a toss up between the Loews pass (www.enjoytheshow.com) for two (that's free movies for you and a friend for a year) or the new Keurig Coffee Maker (www.keurig.com), that brews one cup at a time. Many actors plan to use the coffee maker in their dressing rooms. Ingo Rademacher (Jax, GH) came in to pickup a brewer because Rick Hearst and Kelly Monaco (Ric and Sam) were raving about it and told him he had to get one.

You wouldn't think daytime stars would want to talk about their weight (or weight control methods) in public. But when Drake Hogestyn came to the CortiSlim display he proudly lifted his shirt, showed off his six-pack abs and admitted to using CortiSlim for months. Gina Tognoni (Dinah, GL) is also a fan and Robin Strasser (Dorian, OLTL) told the reps she'd been to four GNCs in search of the product and was so relieved to be able to get her hands on some. (She went home with a nice supply — www.Cortislim.com).

And speaking of beauty (and we were weren't we?), this reporter's favorite booth was the CITYLips one. Basically because the company founder — Chad Wright — was so enthusiastic and fun. Apparently all the actresses (and some of the actors) went gaga about the products which guarantee fuller, plumper lips without a collagen injection. I took home some samples and will report back to you all.

And what would a gift lounge be without jewels and baubles galore? Deidre Hall (Marlena, DAYS) wore three stunning custom earring and necklace sets from Anne Koplik throughout the weekend. Susan Lucci (Erica, AMC) and Kristian Alfonso (Hope, DAYS) also took advantage of their custom pieces (www.annekoplik.com).

Also making their gift lounge debut, were Ziamonds (faux diamonds) each guest took home a set a sparklers, 2.5 carat Ziamond (www.ziamond.com).

The parents in the group (think ATWT's Michael Park (Jack) for example) went nuts at the Cowgirls booth, where there were fun jackets and T-shirts for all ages. (www.cowgirlsheha.com).

Sometimes it's really fun to be a soap star!