WHENEVER the Yuletide season draws near, the choice of gifts to give show biz stars has always been a problem for their friends. Indeed, what do you buy for these people who, presumably, already have everything that money can buy? Should one go expensive or try for meaningful? How about witty and humorous? Or creative and fanciful?

They key, of course, is to do your Christmas list early so you can have the time you need to come up with your well-thought-out choices. This year, for the last Christmas of the millennium, I've come up with the right gifts for some of our most popular and best-loved stars. Here's my partial list--for the women:

Vilma Santos--a big box of vitamin pills for stamina. I've always marvelled at how the Star for All Seasons gets the strength she needs to do the million and one thing she does so well.

Like, she's a supportive wife to a dynamic husband who requires her attention and care; a hands-on mom to a young man who needs guidance and encouragement, and to a toddler who demands not just quality but quantity time as well; a gifted actress who's currently filming "Anak" with Joel Torre and Claudine Barretto for Star Cinema; and the progressive-minded mayor of Lipa City who has many projects going on all at the same time.

Nora Aunor--lozenges for her voice. She's all set for her much-awaited concert, the first after a long time--and she really needs to take care of her golden voice, which has taken a beating in the many years that she has lived her stressful, high-tension lifestyle.

I'd also like to give Guy a cure for amnesia. I've been told by some people that the superstar has become quite "forgetful" these days.

Sharon Cuneta--a big book with blank pages. Of course, she's the one who'll fill it up with all the inspiring stories taken from her own colorful experiences in life. I remember one interview in the now distant past when the megastar revealed a desire to jot down not just everything that has happened in her fairy tale of a life but all her thoughts and insights as well on life, love, survival and her triumphs over all her problems.

The book, when it finally gets written, will surely be a bestseller--an exciting, enriching source of inspiration and strength from a woman who's had her hefty share of both blessings and trials but has proven to be a good steward of everything that the Lord has bestowed upon her.

Ai Ai delas Alas--a rope--no, not to tie around her neck, but a rope of romance that is so long that she'll never find herself at its end again.

Ai Ai is a good singer and comedienne and an even better person. But she usually falls in matters of the heart, over which she has already shed buckets of tears. She deserves to be happy. She deserves a romance that will forever put a smile on her face.

Pops Fernandez--a pair of scissors. She can use it to cut off whatever connecting cord she still has with her estranged husband Martin Nievera. She doesn't need the soap opera of her failed marriage to draw attention to herself and to promote whatever project she's busy with. She has to go on with her life and leave the past behind.

This doesn't mean she'll deny her children their father. This only means she needs to discover and become her own person again so that she can be the mother that they deserve.

Ruffa Gutierrez--a genie in a bottle. This magical person will serve as her manager who'll chart an international career for her. Ruffa is a citizen of the world. She has the talent, beauty and class with which to triumph on the world stage. I've always believed that God has allowed scandals and controversies to hound her in the past to properly prepare her for much bigger things ahead.

Ever since I saw the 14-year-old Ruffa who had stars shining in her eyes, I knew Philippine show business was too small for her. This is just her cocoon within which her caterpillar can transform into a butterfly that will fly from one flower to another in the garden of the world.

Vina Morales--a cloning machine. This high-tech contraption will not only clone Miguel Zubiri and Robin Padilla, it will also combine their best elements and merge them together in one handsome bundle of a man who'll then sweep Vina off her feet and bring her to the altar, and with whom she'll live happily ever after.

Angelu de Leon--a good script. This script is not for the screen--it's a blueprint by which she'll live her real life. In this script, she plays the role of a young woman who's strong and wise, especially in tempering the tantrums of her bratty heart.

Angelu is basically a good person. She may have been derailed but she's now back on track. If only she won't find her train off-track again, a very promising career is hers for the taking, and a bright future awaits her and her child.

Judy Ann Santos--a pair of friendship rings. These she'll in turn give to her mom and her manager Alfie Lorenzo. Juday is on top of the world right now. She has a booming career and she has the correct attitude and mindset to make a go of it bigtime. But, every Christmastime, she always has one wish--for her mom and her manager to become friends.

Claudine Barretto--a diary. No, this is not an empty diary in which she'll write down what happens to her life. In this diary are written all the mistakes committed in the name of love by pretty young things like her, so that she doesn't need to painfully experience them first-hand. Young as she still is, she has already gone through a lot--but she doesn't need more pain for her to learn more. Claudine has a fine head on top of her shoulders. She just needs to use it wisely and well.

Ara Mina, Priscilla Almeda et. al.--a life-size mirror. They can stand in front of this mirror and see for themselves that they have wonderful assets other than their curvaceous bodies. This mirror will show them the talents God gave them which they can use to pursue their dreams of a future that's prosperous, peaceful and sealed with all the happines that they have a right to.