By Chris Cosci

Presenting an award is hard work. It takes a lot of effort to stand on a stage in front of thousands of people, read a list of nominees and announce a winner. That's why presenters at such high-profile awards shows as the Grammys, the Oscars and the Emmys are given tokens of appreciation for tackling such a daunting task. Of course, the presenters at these shows tend to be popular names in show business, and you can't give someone like Denzel Washington or Jennifer Aniston just a $50 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble. These are celebrities, after all.

So, coordinators put together gift bags filled with lots of goodies that would satisfy even the fussiest stars. A wonderful variety of products has recently been assembled for presenters at the Grammy Awards later this month. Products range from practical (you can never have too many wrist blood pressure monitors) to excessive ($240 sterling silver bracelets). Plus, since celebrities are often strapped for cash, the gift bag comes with some of the latest high-tech gadgets, including a 20GB iPod, a digital camera and a pocket PC/mobile phone. And to keep them looking good and feeling relaxed, the gift bags include gift certificates for teeth whitening and top-quality hotels.

Throw in a sweat suit, a handbag, and a few more high-priced items, and each presenter is walking away with roughly $20,000 in merchandise. That's just about right for a few minutes of work. Then later on, when the celebrity is relaxing at home sipping a refreshing beverage made with their new blender (that's right - they also get a blender), they can look back at that torturous moment of presenting and say to themselves, "it was all worth it."

The Grammy gift bags are pretty much on par with the rest of the awards show industry. Last year's Oscars also gave presenters around $20,000 in gifts, including gift certificates for La-Z-Boy, a mattress, and a resort in Cabo San Lucas. Emmy presenters received close to $24,000 in gifts, including handmade Balinese jewelry and, a must have for every celebrity, a vacuum cleaner. But the American Music Awards were the most generous, handing out gift bags worth approximately $30,000, including such luxuries as a tablet PC and a river-rafting trip in Chile.

To really put everything in perspective, consider that there were about 60 people who received the American Music Awards gift bags. Doing some quick math, that adds up to $1.8 million. Money can't be an object, because after all, you can't have a quality show without quality presenters.

For those of us who haven't earned celebrity status yet, we are relegated to playing the lottery, gambling in casinos or going on game shows to get such lavish items. Of course, there's always the long-term strategy: get a job where you earn money and slowly accumulate that money to actually buy those items.

However, there may be a quicker way. Some reports have made outrageous claims that celebrities don't actually need all of the things they get in those gift bags. As a result, those gifts are passed along to people close to the celebrities, such as their personal assistants. Therefore, all you have to do is find a celebrity you like, and become their personal assistant. It's always great to know that there’s an easier way to get what you want. It's like they say, every cloud has a silver lining. Or in this case, a sterling silver lining.