good morning. hitting the highways. as the holiday travel season officially begins, millions of americans will be on the road. we will see if there will be clear skies for that christmas day trip. air frenzy. pepper spray. fist fights. unruly crowds. shoppers battle to get a pair of air jordan basketball shoes as store owners are caught off guard by the mayhem at the mall. a royal scare. queen elizabeth's husband prince phillip is flown to the hospital and undergoes heart surgery just as the family starts christmas vacation. we will see if the 98-year-old patriarch is healthy enough to fly home for the holiday.

we look at the first ladies from jackie kennedy to michelle obama have turned the blue room red and green "early" this christmas eve morning, december 24th, 2011. captioning funded by cbs christmas eve morning in the big city. looks like it's going to be a nice day. welcome to "the early show." i'm russ mitchell. >> i'm rebecca jarvis. speaking of the fact that it's christmas eve morning, there are a lot of people celebrating the holidays and trying to make of more meaningful ways. what can i do and embrace the spirit of all of this. we come up in the program ways people can give back and volunteer and embrace the meaning of all of this. >> mo rocca is going to be here with tips from the holiday classic movies. it should be fun. >> it should be a lot of fun to

see. we begin with the kickoff of the holiday travel season as people prepare for their christmas celebrations. will the weather cooperate? that's, obviously, a question every year we are asking ourselves here in new york. will any parts of the country enjoy a white christmas? for some answers, we head over to john elliott from wcbs in new york who is filling in no lonnie quinn and great to have you with us. >> merry christmas eve to you and to you at home. a busy time of the year and travel day. chicago, minneapolis, detroit and new york all above freezing today. quiet for much of the nation but we are dealing with a potential headache in parts of the southwest. so let's talk about potential trouble spots. dallas, close call. warming up for rain in the city and to the west accumulating snow and heavier rain in houston and rain in seattle and isolated thunderstorms possible in miami. what about that white christmas? singing the blues in the ohio valley and out to the east coast

but in the southwest lots of snow. more of your christmas eve forecast. now back to the desk and rebecca. >> john, thank you. now you know the weather. let's find out how crowded the roads and the skies will be. joining us with our holiday travel forecast is troy green in our washington bureau. great to have you with us. >> thank you for having me. >> we are glad to have you and merry christmas to you. let's talk about what the road, the skies are going to look like this weekend. is it going to be more or less busy than last year? >> we expect about 92 million americans will travel during the year-end holiday travel period and we define that as friday, december 23rd, through monday, january 2nd. that is 1.5% higher compared to a year ago and it's the second highest travel volume in the last ten years. >> that's an interesting point. how about the car versus plane breakdown? what are we doing more?

>> well, we expect about 83 1/2 million americans will drive tho their holiday destinations and that is about 2% more than a year ago. we expect 5.5 million people will travel by air and that is a significant decrease, down about 10% compared to last year. >> why do we think that the air travel is decreasing so much? is it a matter of cost or is there something else here in. >> you're talking about air fares that are 20% more than they were a year ago so i'm sure that's going to have some people thinking it may be more convenient, more affordable for me to travel by automobile, but usually automobile travel is the dominant mode of transportation for all holidays. anywhere between 85% to 90% of people are going to drive to their destinations. >> even with gasoline prices higher than year and higher the last handful of years and oil above a hundred dollars a barrel so that is certainly playing a role. i want to talk to you about the

overall economy. and whether you think the fact that unemployment being high, a lot of kids moving back in with their parents has fewer people traveling and also whether or not you think that the housing market being what it is has more people either moving back in with their family members or moving closer to their family members and that could be playing into these numbers as well? >> well, certainly the economic conditions out there play a role in people's traveling intentions and we have seen generally flat travel compared to a year ago this year with our holiday forecast but let's talk about gasoline prices. the national average today, $3.23 a gallon. good news, it's about ten cents less than a month ago. however, the bad news is 20 cents more than a year ago and it's the most we've ever paid for gasoline for this time of year. so something that we have to look at as we approach 2012. >> troy green from aaa, thank

you so much. >> happy holidays. >> you too. here is russ. thank you. now to politics. the white house ended the year with a bill political victory yesterday after house republicans agreed to pass the payroll tax cut but how long will the political aftershocks be felt by the gop presidential candidates? joining us is major garrett. he broke the story of the washington compromise and he is in our washington bureau. good morning. >> great to be with you. >> how fractured is the republican party now after this vote? >> the house republicans have to figure out a way to legislate. they wrote a good bill, a year-long extension of the payroll tax cut and they paid for it. they liked that bill and wanted to fight for it but failed to realize the president and senate republicans didn't think much of it either. you can write a bill and be proud of it but you have to formulate a strategy the next step and never did and have to learn the lessons rapidly because this debate is coming back in two months.

>> take us through the process here. going to this party one more time in two months. how nasty is that fight expect to get? >> it's christmas eve but we will be experiencing ge ining g day on this. they will finance this payroll tax extension. republicans will oppose that and offer up spending cuts. i had a long talk with a democrat from maryland on this committee where this is all going to be sorted out. democrats are drawing a lot of hard bargaining positions against many of the suggested house republican spending cuts here is the big divide. not just among house republicans but senate republicans because they think if they do the politics right there year, they could win the majority of the united states senate and why so many senate republicans broke from the house republicans. so house republicans and senate republicans work that out and understand how to coordinate their politics they will remain divided on this issue.

>> president obama seemed to take a vickly lap before heading out on his vacation yesterday. >> your voice has made a difference on this debate, whether you tweeted or called or wrote, you reminded people in this town what this debate and what all of our debates should be about. it's about you. >> major, as you said, it's a groundhog day in two months. does this victory of the president if you will have the legs to carry into the election next year? >> every victory matters especially on the cusp of an luckion year. he was referring to his own re-election campaign's effort to reenergize that 2008 coalition that was so powerful from the president. energy hasn't been there in this calendar year but this is the kind of debate that may energize his support and getting more people into the camp thinking people are fighting more most him than six months ago. and no small thing for a american president to energize his base and this may have done

that. >> newt gingrich says he is upset by some of the ads his rivals have put on the air in iowa ten days before the caucuses and says his feelings have been hurt by them. do those statements do you think resonate with voters and with the folks who are trying to win that race? >> they resonate for the people who are attacking newt gingrich because they know it's working and it may resonate with iowa voters who tend not to reward, quote/unquote, negative politics but the reality is newt gingrich rose very quickly in iowa and falling very quickly and doesn't have the organization to back himself up. when he says his feelings are hurt what he really means is his poll numbers are hurt and if mitt romney wins iowa, he'll very much strengthen his approach for the republican nomination. if ron paul wins and i wouldn't rule it out it goes to new hampshire and if romney wins there he restrengthens and resolidifies what is true he is the front-runner until somebody knocks him off. >> major garrett, happy holidays, my friend. >> merry christmas to you, russ. >> thank you.

see you soon. you might have have thought yesterday was black friday or some shoppers behaving worse than congress. shoppers all over the country were busting down doors and getting into fights, even shooting guns, but they weren't looking for big sales. they were fighting to get a pair of basketball shoes. national correspondent hattie kauffman has more on these mall brawls. >> reporter: with stores packed and people spending, retailers have a lot to smile about this season. but the intense demand for one item, the retromichael jordan 11 shoe caught the nation shop owners off guard. crowds broke down the door at a mall in indianapolis for the shoes that went on sale friday morning. police were ordered to pepper spray the crowd. two girls fighting off the shoes were pulled off each other in charlotte, north carolina. amid all of this some emerged victorious. >> for my son when i have one. i don't have a kid yet but fresh

shoes. >> reporter: the shoes retail for $180 and some camped out all night for a chance to get them. >> i'm a true fan. 70 hours in line with this freezing cold weather. >> reporter: christmas past have their must have gifts. remember the run on the tickle me elmo and the cabbage patch craze? this year's hot item may not end up under a christmas tree. not when the air jordan shoe can be put up on ebay for two or three times for the price. >> you see them on craigslist. >> reporter: hattie kauffman, cbs news, los angeles. >> if the scramble to get air jordans is the indicator the economy at least in the form of retail sales appears to be turning around, here with the big picture is jill schlesinger, editor at large for cbs moneywatch.com. we have seen the gifts come out before. this one is $180 and a huge

frenzy surrounding it. how much of an economic indicator is that that people are -- >> not so much. you know what? it is kind of cool there is no go to gift this year and there was no great toy so this is like the first time we felt a little bit of energy around the holiday season about a specific project but you know what? it's a blip really. >> it's a blip. when it comes to getting people to the stores this year, i've noticed retailers have had to cut prices more and more. the discounts, i mean, 10%, 20% is not a discount any more. give me 50% or 70% or nothing. >> consumers are demanding that and holding back. retailers out there and stuck with inventory and don't want it through the next few weeks so they try to pump it out i would say in the next few days you might get a tantalizing sale so keep your eyes open. >> good news for consumers but what does that mean for the overall economy and what we are doing when we head into 2012? >> you know, it's still really about the total economic growth and i think it is good news for consumers, but we still have a problem in this country. we're growing so slowly and, you know, i think that is driving

everything else and unless we see a general rise in economic growth, everything else is going to be poking along here. >> what could be the impetus for that? the american consumer, 70% of the economy, we are spending but only on majorly discounted items. >> we are not spending that much is the other thing. we are holding back. we have personal income and spending numbers which we looked at this week, they said it ticked up a little bit but people aren't making as much and wage growth is stagnating and people are spending at the expense of their savings and not a great trend. you look at economic growth. we found out in the third quarter we grew by 1.8%. that is really not big growth for the u.s. economy. we look at the fourth quarter, we're expecting spending to pick up a little bit. e are going to see about 3% growth. the problem is next year, economists say we will be back down 2.5%. that is not strong enough to create jobs in this country. >> right. at the heart of that weakness is not only a weak jobs picture but also a very weak housing picture which has shown some

improvements this week. >> i do the yes/but. the housing market is improving but from such a low level and here is the problem. from 2000 to 2006, we had an unprecedented housing market. prices doubled and that doesn't happen. and for those seven years, people got used to it. now we are going to really see what the next seven years is all about. i don't expect that we will see a return to a, quote/unquote, normal housing market until 2013 or 2014. >> reporter: in you're thinking about buying a house, is that wait? >> absolutely not. i think if you're in the market to find a house and you can qualify for a 30-year mortgage go get it. it's a great time to buy a house! but awesome time to lock in the low rates so that is fantastic. if you're selling your house, i wouldn't wait for a great improvement. i'd bang that house out and move on. >> jill schlesinger, thanks so much. >> great to be with you.

now for the rest of this morning's headlines, cbs news correspondent betty nguyen is at the news desk. >> good morning. topping our news, prince phillip, the 90-year-old husband of queen elizabeth is in the hospital recovering from heart surgery. correspondent charlie d'agata is following these developments and in our london bureau with the latest. good morning, charlie. >> good morning to you, betty. >> reporter: prince phillip has a history of heart disease and according to one of the papers here, his bodyguards instructed to rush him into the hospital even against his will if he is short of breath. >> reporter: they rushed in to be beside prince phillip at the hospital where is he recovering from emergency surgery for a blocked artery. the palace says doctors successfully inserted a small stent. >> putting a stent in helps the blood flow to stay open. the damage is cleared and the damage is minimized. if the artery is left closed

with the blood clot the muscle will suffer and die and that is a heart attack ♪ happy birthday to you >> reporter: prince phillip celebrated his 90th birthday. a busy year. the entire royal family celebrates christmas together traditionally and this year that include prince william's new wife catherine. the queen's speech will be broadcast tomorrow. the queen and the nation hope prince phillip will be home to watch it with her. >> the queen will be d oh, she relies so much on him and always has done. she adores him. >> reporter: now i never thought i'd be saying this but i just met prince phillip at the palace a few weeks ago. i do have to say he looked frail but still jovial. he has a reputation to be outspoken and enjoying odd joke. at one point he asked me if i was canadian. i said, no, i'm american. he said, that's all right. welcome anyway. >> charlie, we are glad you're &

american. thanks for joining us live in london. for the second time in two weeks, thousands of people have taken to the streets of moscow to protest alleged election fraud. they are angry with prime minister vladimir putin who is seeking a new term as president. putin accuses the u.s. of storming up the protests. a 1th man claims he was sexually abused by former penn state coach jerry sandusky. the alleged victim has filed the second civil lawsuit against sandusky. the school and sandusky's charity. the man's lawsuit says he was 12 at the time of the onetime incident. the alleged victim claims sandusky gave him whiskey and touchdown him inappropriately. those who think fruitcake only gets better with age, you're right up to a point that is. a fruitcake made by the kroger company in cincinnati, 70 years ago. yes, 7-0, sold for $525 in an online auction. it was vacuum packed and revened

in rum but returned to kroger unopened 40 years ago. i didn't know you could take a return after 40 years. money from the auction will be used to benefit homeless people in southwest ohio so it's for a good cause. i don't know! lonnie quinn is not here but john elliott is. woe you eat a fruitcake that is 70 years old? >> come on over to my house this weekend. my mom has five of them right now! today is national egg nog day so there you go. a beverage to wash that fruitcake down with. let's talk about the nation's weather. quiet for much of the country but colder. northern plains through the lakes, far colder for new england and the mid-atlantic than earlier in the week and quiet in the southeast but potential problems in the south central states. rain/snow line close to dallas and wet weather into parts of the pacific northwest.

i live in naj right next to new york and we are going to play a little football today. here is russ with more. >> i'm still getting over national egg nog day. >> yeah, drink up. 13 games scheduled for this this afternoon. including several with vital playoff implications. you can see some of them here on cbs. here with a preview is former new york jets and cleveland browns head coach eric mangini who is an analyst with espn and in cleveland, ohio, theoretic. good morning. >> good morning, russ! how are you? >> let's talk about the big game in new york, the jets versus the giants. how important is that contest? >> this game is huge and huge for a couple of different reasons. the first reason is neither team will be laemteliminated from th playoffs but whoever wins control their own destiny and

the loser has a huge uphill battle. it is a battle for new york and the contrasting styles between the head coaches and the teams so this is going to be fun to watch. >> any key to look for as to winning this game? >> yeah. the key to the game is how the quarterbacks play, whether it's mark sanchez or eli manning, it's not the play that they make, russ, it's the plays that they don't make and that means protecting the football, not having turnovers and both teams need to run the ball. the jets to set up play action and the giants to slow down the jets exotic blitzes. >> the eagles versus the cowboys today. always a potentially volatile matchup. what do you think about today's game? >> for the eagles, they have been the dream team or they were labeled that in the early part of the season, but it's been anything but. the interesting thing about this game is they are 6-8. they have won two straight. if they can win two more and tie the rest of the division, they will actually win the division which, to me, is amazing and nobody thought would happen. >> tony romo has been lambasted

in the past for breaking down late in the year. any key players in the game today? >> the key players in this game today is lesean mccoy for the eagles. averaged 6.2 yards a carry the last time the two met. for dallas it is tony romo. he has thon 18 touchdown passes and only two interceptions since they last played. those are the two that will control this game. >> tim tebow is the story of the nfl this year. had a rough game last week again the patriots. didn't win that contest. do you think his legend will continue as we move forward? >> i think so. they are 6-1 the last seven games and number one rushing offense and buffalo is 0-7 their last seven games and they have a rushing defense in the lower part of the league. and if they win today and oakland loses against kansas city, they have a chance to win the division outright this afternoon. >> coach, what do you think about tim tebow as a quarterback? >> early on, he was criticized

far too much. as they have started to win, he has gotten a little bit of too much of the praise and the truth is somewhere in the middle. this is a good, young quarterback who is developing, who is learning, and with the broncos, what they are trying to figure out is what is his ceiling? how far can he take them. not just this year or into the future. >> he's been here a number of times on this broadcast. he seems like a very nice young man. how do his colleagues in the locker room feel about him? >> he is an interesting story like watching a disney movie. it's the feel good movie of the season and some of his words could be the trailer. he says if you believe, sometimes the impossible is possible. and that's what has been the case with him and i think everybody cheers for him and is behind him and love the fact that he is winning. >> eric mangini joining us from cleveland where i understand it's snowing today. >> it is snowing today. and i hear that you may be joining us soon. i think you're going to love it here, russ.

>> okay. thanks. we will fill our viewers later in on that. happy holidays to you. >> thank you. >> the nfl begins on cbs at noon eastern time with "the nfl today." check your local listings. >> a lot of head-to-head combat between today and the northeast and tomorrow. you have the pack and the bears going head-to-head. >> the tundra. coming up for your procrastinators how to get the last-minute gift even on christmas day. >> make sure it gets there on time. we are going to track st. nick and his reindeer as they head towards your home.

sometimes when the rush to go to parties and buy gifts this time of year, the important things about the holiday season can get lost and that is something that we want to think about today. helping others. whether they live down the street or in another state, even another country. >> that's right. >> there are things that we can all do. >> we have some great tips comi

♪ new york city all wrapped up in a bow. welcome back to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis. the temptation this holiday season of that wonderful and bad food. we will tell you coming up in eat this, not that and help you keep off the pounds as you keep celebrating. plus getting that last-second gift. even if you have to get it on the way to grandma's house on christmas day, we have your solution. and where in the world is old st. nick? we have kept an eye on santa as he makes his way to your pneighborhood and keep you postd on his whereabouts coming up in a minute. first, we turn to russ. in the rush during the holidays we forget it's a season to give not just to our friends and family but people in our own

community or around the world who are in need. here with ways you and your family can make a difference on christmas day is amy brightfield, of "woman's day" magazine. a lot of people go to food pantries tomorrow to help out. >> you can go to foodpantri foodpantries.org and type in your city's zip code and where food pantries need help and they might need help on-site like today and new year's eve and new year' day. cooking and delivering food and some have delivery services they need help with. go on to foodpantries.org and call and check and see what they need and then go. >> a big need out there still, correct? >> definitely. hunger is always worldwide in the united states. it's a big problem. and especially during the holidays. it's a great thing to give back to because people definitely need it. >> you talked about it being a worldwide problem.

if you want to help out around the world there is a website you can check out? >> the hunger site, all you have to do is click on a button and the sponsors of the site donate money to food banks worldwide and in the united states. so that's a great thing because you don't have to donate any money. you don't have to go out of your house. you click on the button and the sponsors donate money and food. >> a lot of people want to volunteer over the holidays to do something but they don't know where to go or how to find that information about it. i was fascinated to find out one place to go and tell you everything you need to go. >> volunteermatch.org and search the type of thing you want to do whether help kids or seniors and it's great because you can customize your volunteering experience and you could never do that before. it's great. go there and type in your area and what you want to do and it connects you and gives you a list of events. you can also search by event date so you can type in the date today or tomorrow and figure out what is going on in your area that they need help with. >> i want to ask you about another website you recommend.

givelocally.net. >> you can browse through stories of people in need whether a single mom who just lost her job and needs help with a down payment. people are vetted and you can choose who to give to. the money does not go directly to them but the services they need. for example a single mom who needs help with a down payment or help buying owner groceries the money goes towards grocery stores or directly to the landlord for the down payment. you can follow them after you've donated the money to them and they are vetted. >> coats. it's getting cold outside. anyplace we can go out to take coats? >> it's onewarmcoat.org. it's like burlington coat factory is a participant in it. type where you are and where you can donate that coat. as the weather gets colder a lot of people need coats, hats,

scarves, things like that. >> if people want to donate but skeptical about an organization they don't know much about it is there a place they can go to find out on that organization to find out if it's credible and if the money is going to the right place? >> there are charity database and charitynavigator.org and give.org is part of the bets bus bureau and navigator star. you go to these databases and you can find information about them whether complaints or lawsuits against them. a nonprofit database that rates the charities whether or not they are on the up and up. >> amy brightfield, happy holidays to you and your family. >> thank you. mr. lonnie quinn has the day off but john elliott of wcbs does not. he is here in new york bus with another check of the weather. >> i'll be shopping later. that is great information, too. i hope people take advantage of that and help out. i want to help you out with the forecast. nice and warm in the northeast and pop-up storms could be in

florida but the concern is parts of texas. i think the rain/snow line just misses dallas but it is going to be a little sloppy and definitely wet in houston. to the west, though, we are going to see some accumulating snow so the problem is going to be in parts of west texas and into new mexico where you are going to be dealing with the snow. take it easy and make sure everybody has a safe hanukkah and gets ready for a nice safe christmas. how sweet is rebecca jarvis? she brought in a huge tray of cookies so that is what i'm going to eat. so right now let's toss it back to the very trim rebecca. >> thank you, john.

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holidays are fun but they can put inches around your waist so this time of the year most people gain at least one pound and here with advice how to avoid those choices and make healthy choices is matt. great to have you with us. >> great to be here. beat the holiday bloat one meal at a time. stay away from things holiday themed because in many cases they are tapping into the urge to let yourself go over the holidays. >> let it rip. dunkin' donuts. >> we have the warm cinnamon swirl muffin with 630 calories. the first two ingredients on

than bad boy is flour and sugar and the first two ingredients in a twinkie so we are try to stay away from this guy. >> 630 is a lot! >> i know it looks like a meager portion here but we go with the cinnamon cake munchkins, only 240 with these bad guys and still holiday themed. >> i hop! >> this is the egg nog pancake ultimate sausage and bacon combo. i just gained weight saying that! >> i'm looking at the calorie count. >> 2,000 calories and 111 grams of fat. if you wanted to burn this off you would have to run four hours so stay away from anything that stays ultimate combo! >> i always am drawn immediately to the ultimate combo. >> this is the simple and fit pancake option and pumpkin pancake a quarter of the calories as this big boy over here. >> the two plates are not that

dig different looking. >> denny's. >> we are going there for dinner. this is a sad looking sandwich and even worse it's 1,300 calories. i think it's a holiday hangover than a holiday leftover. 32 milligrams of sodium which is more than you need in an entire day. instead the super bird sandwich because it's presumably good for you but not that great. 635 calories. we have greens on there and it comes with brockry when you get it so that is a healthier option. >> mix it up a little bit. ghiradelli. >> you want to have a little candy. what we are saying serve size matters. two different servings in each of these peppermint bark guys. more than 400 calories in each serving. instead we have these little

menargie guys here from lindt. starbucks.o order carefully at - here is the egg nog latte 690 calories! >> in a drink! >> instead of that we are saying make your own and in this case two pumps of the cinnamon syrup and put it in a cappuccino and you're good to go. >> is the sugar-free cinnamon syrup? you have to go with the sugar-free stuff. >> matt bean, merry christmas. >> merry christmas to you. up next, good news for you last-minute shoppers. we have tips on how to get that important gift even on christmas day. that's harsh. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. ♪

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kleenex cool touch tissues. the last-minute fist. cbs news financial contributor carmen wong ulrich is here with ways to get gifts even on christmas day.

good morning to you. >> good morning. >> any idea how many procrastinators are out there? >> we have a lot. consumer reports 23% of folks are shopping today. they have to shop today. and beginning of the week, 25% hadn't even started shopping. now half of these people are saying, a lot of this is financially related but a full third of them are saying, we are just procrastinators. we just wait until the last minute and how we roll. >> what kind of gifts do procrastinators typically buy? >> it's a good gift. this is a gift most people according to surveys really want which is gift cards. that is up 45%. they say give us christ forwards. cash, who says no to that? 21%. food gifts, % and wine or liquor can't be mad about that about 7% of folks spend their last-minute dollars on that. >> that's easy. back on day on christmas eve the stores closed at 2:00. no more of that? >> no more of that. if you're out shopping today quite a few folks are open for you so you need to know that. walmart is open until 8:00 p.m.

and toys "r" us until 10:00 p.m. which is late and target open until 9:00 and we know macy's about the country 14 stores open late. jcpenney and kohl's. check online to see how late they are open but many are open. >> back on the day if you forgot on christmas day. you say places to go on christmas day? >> most locally grocery stores are open and we know they up their game so they have a lot of of foods, of course. drugstores. cvs is going to be open on christmas day as well and starbucks. not all of them. check your local listings. i know mine is open until 8:00 p.m. on christmas day and you can get gifts there. >> what gifts are we talking about? gift certificates? >> you have the gift cards. i tune gift cards and such and toys for the kids and dvd player and cvs is selling dvd players

and at starbucks, who doesn't like the coffee and the things you can get there. there's still things you can get on christmas day for the folks that need it. >> you saw a woman at starbucks buying 13 50 dollar gift cards? >> she came up after me with 13 gift cards 50 bucks each and even shocked the staff. good last-minute gift card shopping. >> you have tips for us. before you walk out the door, take inventory. >> absolutely. the worst thing we do and a lot of us do, i'm guilty of this too. we go out and forget what we have already bought. did we already buy grandma's present? before you leave just check and see what you've got already before you go. make a list of who needs what before you leave. check that budget. because that last minute pressure really makes us spend more than we need to spend so have a dollar amount in your mind that you're not going to bypass before you go out the door. >> very good advice. you ask yourself do i really need this tomorrow? >> do you need it tomorrow it? are you going to see the person

on christmas day? if you're not seeing them next week, monday, the sales are going to be insane. they will incredible. hit the stores the day after christmas or even tuesday if you're going to see people later in the week. and do your shopping then. >> traditionally, the sales after christmas have been insane. >> this year even better. i went to the gap in-store sales an additional 40% off so basically everything is at cost and we know that that is what a lot of retailers are doing right now. 40% off is the magic number but after christmas, it might even be a deeper discount so you're going to get tremendous savings after christmas. >> good time to go. carmen wong ulrich, merry christmas to you. >> and you too. >> up next, a busy day for santa. he is about to leave the north pole. we are going to find out where his first stop may be. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. ♪

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side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about cymbalta. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. go to cymbalta.com to learn about a free trial offer. but it is christmas eve. >> get out! >> that means santa is about to get on his sleigh. every year the u.s. military tracks santa's amazing jurn yooi. >> joining us what is santa is

up to is u.s. army general chuck and commander of norad and they are in colorado springs, colorado. good morning. >> good morning. >> we have a four-second delay in colorado springs so all kind of stuff going on. general, i understand this whole tracking santa started some 50 years ago with a misprinted phone number? >> yes. it's quite a story and we have progressed significantly since then. just as we progressed in defending north america, our tracking santa has gone high tech now. >> and tell us about some of the technology, general, that you're using to track santa.

>> absolutely. we have got the satellites that we use to defend the country, defend the continent and also the north warning system, our powerful radars and the fighter planes, f-22s and f-15s and f-18s all of them involved today to make sure the boys and girls around the world are up to date on where santa is and how he is progressing. >> colonel, the question that every kid wants to know. where is santa right now and is he on pace to deliver toys to it all of the good girls and boys around the world? >> i'm happy to report he took off right on time. it's remarkable. he's on time every year. no exception this year. i'm going to check my board. santa is just minutes away from the island of chi chi in japan. >> wow. >> so far delivered 2.2 million gifts. >> the question i'm sure on the

mitchell family's mind this morning, when do they get to russ' place here in new york city? >> okay. now we know that santa's schedule, we know when he takes off but his schedule is very closely guarded secret. only santa has that. but our pattern that we have established over the years, says he is going to show up on the east coast of the united states between 9:00 and midnight and all of the kids know that, of course, he's going to be there but you got to be asleep when gets there for him to land. >> that is a good point. not only for him to land but for him to leave the gifts behind. you have to go to bed. >> that is true. general and colonel, listen. thank you so much for the update. we appreciate it. kids around the country appreciate it. merry christmas to both of you. >> merry christmas. thank you. >> see you later. coming up, a look inside the

christmas traditions of the white house. how first

♪ look at that. merry christmas, everybody. welcome to "the early show." i'm rebecca jarvis in new york city. >> somebody is taking a cruise for christmas. >> a great idea! >> for many of us, decorating a tree, a christmas tree takes a little while and maybe a day but at the white house, it takes months from planning the theme to finding the tree to trimming it. it's always the first lady who is in charge. coming up, an inside look at how first ladies from nancy regan to michelle obama have transformed the blue room into a winter wonderland. >> we eat great food on christmas but what is everybody celebrating some we will talk to

three noted religious leaders about the true meaning of the holiday season. now we turn to betty nguyen for more of this morning's news headlines. >> good morning. merry christmas eve to you and good morning everybody. christmas eve celebrations are getting under way around the world. thousands of pilgrims and tourists are gathering in bethlehem in the west bank said to be the traditional birth place of christ. later this morning, in vatican life-sized nativity scene in st. peter square. pope benedict xvi will celebrate the mass at the vatican. a mass funeral for the twin suicide bombings. thousands of people turned out inside a damascus mosque where the people of the killed lined up. many of the words shouted words to the president bash ash ar al

assad. mr. obama delayed his christmas vacation for a week, due to the wrangling over the payroll tax cut. an hour after landing in honolulu the president and first lady went out to dinner to one of their favorite restaurants. the first family is expected to stay in hawaii until early january. south carolina plans to fight to restore its controversial voter i.d. law. the justice department rejected the law friday saying it discriminates against minority voters. now, it would have required votes to show a government issued identification at the polls. this is the first to be rejected by the justice department in two decades. even though it is saturday, here's a sunday story for you. a truck overturned in indiana on friday spilling 40,000 pounds of ice cream! yep, it took the workers hours to scoop up the mess. police had to set up cones rerouting the traffic.

time for weather. lonnie quinn is off today but john elliott from wcbs joins us. that is quite a mess but a tasty one at that. >> i got them both. betty, scoop and cones. >> very good. >> i know it's early and folks getting ready to go shopping. that was clever writing. weather around the country relatively quiet. problems for parts of texas. snow to the west and rain could be significant rain to the east and then parts of the pacific northwest as well so breaking it down for you. here is your christmas eve forecast. problems in the south central states and some soggy weather in the pacific northwest. watch the lakes tomorrow, though. you could see a little bit of frozen precip from, shay, charlotte to saginaw and more rain moving into parts of the southeast for your christmas day. speaking of christmas, the warmest one is in christmas, florida, at 78 degrees. the coldest christmas coffee, maine. the nicest weather wise is

christm christm christmas. announcer: this portion of "the early show" sponsored by macy's. silent night written on this day in 1818 but tonight is remember to read the instructions first night which i'm sure russ will do. take it away. >> very good advice. thanks a lot. one of the most magical christmas trees of the season is at the white house. president obama and first lady lit the christmas tree earlier this month. what you may not know is first lady michelle obama was in charge of decorating that tree

and choosing the rest of the deck races in the white house. colleen, good morning to you. >> good morning. >> where did this tradition start first lady decorating a tree? >> we have a rich history of christmas decorating. the first christmas tree inside the white house was president benjamin harrison in 1889 and jackie kennedy said let's have a christmas theme every year. 60th anniversary of the christmas theme this year. >> you at the white house helping first lady laura bush decorate the tree. what was that like. >> really exciting. >> most of us have a box in the closet. you put the ornaments and the lights on the tree. how much time does it take to decorate the white house and these trees? >> it's incredible. they start planning in february and march. no sooner you finish one

christmas, you zoom into the next. a whole team shows up at the end of november. 45 people when i was there and when you got to the white house b a hundred people. incredible amount of work in two days. >> big question. who pays for all of this stuff? the taxpayers? >> ouch! who pays! >> got to ask. >> private donations. republican national committee or democratic national committee but every american gets to enjoy them. >> one way to look at. we talked about the first lady in charge of the decorations. do they have a cash of thousands or how involved does the first lady get in making sure it's done right? >> i found out the first lady is the commander in chief in christmas and they all really care and put their own personal stamp on it. bosh rah bush really took charge and loved to decorate. they all have their own signature style which is a lot of fun. >> you did a lot of research for your book. when it came to decorating, who was your favorite first lady? >> i loved them all but i have to say nancy reagan.

she was always over the top and having a great time and dans dancing with dom deluise. she is currently my favorite. >> how would you write michelle obama's christmas style? >> she has a great style and tries to bring us back to the real meaning of the season. this year, it's shine, share and give and she always try to remember our military so she gets high marks for that. >> what about the former first lady and secretary of state hillary clinton? >> i was surprised. i thought maybe she would be uninvolved and that was wrong on my part. she was very involved and she liked to have celebrity designers come in. i like to think what if she makes it to the white house? will bill clinton be in charge of the decorating? >> that's a very good question. that would be interesting. in doing the research for this book, what is the biggest

surprise you found? something you saw. i didn't know that and that really surprises me. >> you know what i found out? amazing historical pictures of the first families in their own private celebrations that are there for all of us to enjoy. i was really taken with some of the kennedy pictures, some of the nixon pictures, just these really amazing moments and then just how spectacular it is behind the scenes and then what the public gets to see also. >> cost on this stuff? any idea what the -- what is the budget for something like this? >> nobody is telling but we can guess it's six figures. a funny thing, betty ford got raked over the coals for spending $1,600 back in the '70s and he we know it's a lot more than that today. we are talking upwards of 40 christmas trees. tons and tons of garland and artificial snow, lots and lots of parties. it's not a small price tag. >> you get ideas for your own home in doing all this? >> that's what i wanted. that's why i started the book.

i wanted to steal the first lady's ideas and they have great ones so check it out. >> merry christmas to you. up next, discuss the meaning of christmas with three noted religious leaders. i have what science calls the "nightly stuffy nose thing":

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♪ this morning, lots of people are doing last-minute christmas shopping. others are enjoying the hanukkah gifts they received this week. we can all enjoy the beautiful lights and decorations that surround us this time of the year. what are we celebrating? here to discuss the deeper

meaning of the holidays is dr. m.jasher and rabbi smotke whose new book comes out next month and father beck. great to have you all with us. father beck, how do you recommend people stay in more of the spirit of this and keep their mind on what is important about the holiday season? >> a christian perspective for me it says are you not alone. so many people have image of god that is so distant and removed from them. someone who exists somewhere out there. and christmas celebrates is that god wants to be so intimate with us that is born as a homeless refugee. i mean, who can identify with every person? and so when people are struggling, as they are right now with the economy and joblessness and all of the stuff that can bring people down this

time of year, we say we have a god who is one with us and who is born with us and i think to focus on that dimension really helps us feel not so alone. a lot of people feel alone. >> rabbi, a lot of people this time of year, it's holidays plural. how do you feel about that and do you think there are sort of things that crossover in all religions that people can take note of this time of year? >> well, i wrote a book but jesus was a jew and he brings a spiritual message of togetherness to all nations but it begins with this jewish message god is among us. he expresses himself through people. i feel that this time of the year, when it comes to the holidays, we make the mistake of thinking that objects give happiness. all of the stuff we are buying is going to be on ebay next week, you snow it has a shelf life and only brings temporary happiness. the moment you spend with family and friends will stay for you forever and costs nothing. you have to be commercialize it

a little bit. the presents are important but the greatest gift is the gift itself and why i think it's important. >> we had our biggest holidays in august and then our holiday of the holiday sacrifice in november and it's with the children. i have children 9, 7, and 3 and hard to sometimes with the pressures the christian holiday the majority celebrating it to remind them that they are out celebrating the same things we do in our holiday. it's about submission, it's about giving everything you can to your life, to your neighborhood, to your community and to your nation to remember to renew from within. it's almost about rebooting your relationship with god and i think what happens is we get too sucked into this concept of religion, organized religion and holidays as part of a secularized materialistic focus rather than about faith, about getting closer to god. it's too bad, as we have twitter and facebook that we don't have a god app that reminds us to be personal in our relationship with god so that we come together and remember what it is

to be a community that shares a lot of values and also has differences that we remember. >> you both are shaking your head. >> my new book has a god app. >> i have to download that. >> he is right. the fact is that we're not a very spiritual society any more. what do we mean by spiritual? the spiritual means there are things that can't be seen, can't be touched and only can be experienced and they are the most valuable things in the world. look at love. no one has seen love or touched love but you've experienced love. like electricity, no one has seen it but it powers everything around us. the message is you have things that can't be put on a credit card and you're suppose to do recalibrate and rediscover true values. america needs a resurgence of values and what we are supposed to focus around this time of the year. we work less, more time for kids and christmas dinner should not be an annual experience. you should have dinner with your kids several times a week. the only regret you'll have not that you didn't buy the great

instyle gift that year, who even remembers tickle me elmo today, you snow what you're going to regret you neglected your relationships because that is what really brings richness in life. >> father beck, how do you incorporate this into your everyday life and not make it about we are celebrating the holidays so we focus on it for this moment? >> one of the things i think is not beat people up and give them more to do at the holidays. sometimes i find so we have christmas mass and more people would come than usual. you may not see them all year. and they show up at christmas and some pastors get up on the pulpit why are the worse of the year and why not come more? they make it a bad experience. it's up to us to make it a community of love and celebration and we are supposed to help during this time of the year to help people make the connections. people have busy lives. they are shopping and have kids to tend to and oo a lot on their plates. your religion should not be one

more but say your life is more than than that and we want to help you get to the deeper place. services and mass is supposed to be about that. it shouldn't become one more thing to do and i think the more attractive we make it, the better for people's lives it is. >> i think one of the things that happens with holidays they become bulkized and one takes ownership of that. as a muslim in our holiday it's hard struggling with our kids to tell them this is our holiest day of the year and the rest of the society isn't paying that much attention. i think one of the things to remind kids is that we, this is a country under god. our founding fathers remembered the place of god and faith but did not necessarily talk about religion and organized aspects of it and i think that is what we need to remember, that we come together as a community and share values and spirituality. >> thank you so much. happy holidays, the all-inclusive holidays to all of

you. >> thank you. up next the most talked about viral video of the week. find out what happened to this fedex guy. we are coming right back. you're watching "the early show" on cbs. how can you get back pain relief that lasts up to 16 hours? with thermacare heatwraps. thermacare works differently. it's the only wrap with patented heat cells that penetrate deep to relax, soothe, and unlock tight muscles for up to 16 hours of relief. that's 8 hours while you wear it, plus an additional 8 hours of relief after you take it off. can your patch, wrap, cream or rub say that? so if you've got pain... get up to 16 hours of pain relief with thermacare. [ cat yodeling ] honey, check your email! [ cellphone chimes ] [ cat yodeling ] kids! [ cat yodeling ]

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♪ a very special christmas eve edition of tend benders. bus is nelson. i understand a video is all over the place of a fedex worker giving a very special delivery. tell me about that. >> this is the most watched video of the week from youtube and it kind of confirms that what we all suspect happens to our packages when something breaks. >> got a computer there or what is it? >> a computer monitor. the fedex guy chunks it over the fence. he doesn't bother to check the door and doesn't ring or knock. the computer monitor just gets destroyed. >> this is a real fedex guy. not a letterman skit.

a real fedex employee? >> real fedex employee. the customer had a video camera in the right place and upload the defendant to youtube and fedex had to respond. >> many you want to know what is happening to the employee. we take this matter very seriously. while we consider employee information private, i can assure you we are working within our disciplinary policy and the employee is not working with customers. >> yes, that is a real fedex guy giving that apology. as you said, they had to do something. >> they had to do something. over 6 million people saw the original video. now this video in and of itself is already garnered more than 300,000 but that is not a small number but only 5% of the amount of the -- of views of the original video. so it kind of goes to show the danger of these viral videos. once the damage goes on, it's harder to bring it back. >> let's move on.

angry birds, the popular game we play on our smart phones. a holiday edition involves a house, is that right? >> a lot of people with video games love characters and what not. but this is more than a christmas display. this is a christmas light game. you can take the controller that this gentleman built from the screen and actually play a game of angry birds on his house in christmas lights. that's two computers. 20,000 lights and all sorts of light switches to just control this thing. >> that's some serious dedication. we have all heard the christmas song "all i want for christmas is my two front teeth." ♪ >> a holiday classic. i understand there is a young man who has taken this at a hotel different direction? >> oh, yeah. a lot of kids are afraid of getting their teeth pulled out. this kid has no fear whatsoever. he attaches a string to his bottom tooth to a nerf gun.

>> oak. >> just the sight is scary but he approaches it with no fear. take a look. >> it worked! >> let me see. nice! >> i guess that is his dad? someone is saying that's okay. >> dad is cheering him on in the background. >> whoa. there is the tooth. this is a video that was done last year on the web but it just became really viral this year. why? >> it's always hard to know how exactly like these tiny videos become huge but more than likely so many googled it and thought it was funny and posted it on their blog and someone else decided to tweet it and someone put it on facebook and before you know it grows in a super fast way. >> that's something. i can't get over that fedex thing. that is something else. again, real folks, real issue there. >> exactly. >> happy holidays to you,

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♪ >> very pretty new year's eve -- new year's eve! christmas eve in central park. >> we are coming to you live on new year's eve. >> welcome back to "the early show" on christmas eve. i'm russ mitchell. >> i'm rebecca jarvis. coming up, holiday mishaps. from "bad santa" one of my favorites moves to bruce willis. >> which bruce willis one is

that? and we have a special holiday cocktail and he dishes about his great christmas eve. he will be with us in a moment. >> wonderful guy. all coming up. lonnie quinn is off. john elliott from wcbs tv here in new york has the final check of our weather. >> let's talk about what is going on right now. relatively quiet much of the country. my concern parts of texas. see the pink? see some mix so snow to the west and rain and then possibly some sleet and freezing rain sandwiched in between for your christmas day. all of this moves to the east jolly, georgia. santa claus 55. st. nicholas 39 and holly, michigan, he is holly. cupid, 44 if you love the holiday. i hope you do.

for russ in st. louis, 51 p.m. for rah beck dah ka in minneapolis, 38. for betty in ft. worth, 50 and soggy. goodrich, michigan, flurries. hope your holiday is trouble-free but that is not always the case. here is rebecca. 'tis the season to be prepared. sometimes a little holiday cheer can spill on your lovely white carpet but these merry little mishaps all have some quick fixes according to amy goodman. she is author of "wear this, toss that." and always love having you here because you have great ideas and great fixes for the holiday. good morning. >> good morning. >> this is one of them i've been in this situation. you wrap so many gifts and then, all of a sudden you've got a few left and no wrapping paper. what do you do?

>> you find a perfect present and then at the last minute nothing to wrap it up in so make your own. any kind of papers you may have around your home. these are inside/out bags and you can use apples and it took me about five to ten minutes blotting them on ink pads and papers to go. >> just don't eat the fruits and vegetables afterwards? >> that would be another mishap all in itself. >> a serious one. you take the meat out of the stove an it's not fully cooked. what do you do? >> this has happened to me this thanksgiving. everything was ready and hot and then the poor little turkey was still raw. continue cooking your meat but i think the key is to have an emergency soup ready. i made a butternut squash a few days early and heat it up and do not serve a full bowl of soup because everyone will be too full. >> even if you don't eat the

soup that night you can have it in the fridge or freezer for another time. >> i'm making one today for tomorrow. >> you are? good move. >> here you have something very common. maybe it's your favorite table cloth. wax on the table cloth. >> don't panic. don't wait until it gets nice and hard and dry and couldn't poke or prod it. chip at it with a dull knife to get up the big pieces first and then you take the little shavings off to the side and then atop your ironing board you place a towel and a table cloth and blotting cloth and work the hot iron action and it's starting to pick up the oil and wax. work at it until all of it is lifted off. >> the oil that you see remaining is not going to bother the table cloth? eventually, it will dry up? >> if you complete doing this process it will complete lift off on the blotting paper. >> at a party you have white

carpeting and red wine, negative, bad combination from time to time. >> if you're so nervous about having red wine served at your party because you have a gorgeous white sofa or white carpet it's okay. take the red wine out of the picture and serve white wane or champagne or a lovely white cocktail. this is cute ginger all natural beginni beginniginge ginge ginger'ale. i have white stars. it's a sweet little drink. >> yummy. i've been through this situation before. somebody brings out a gift you weren't expecting them to give you a gift so you don't have one. what do you do? >> the idea is you have some evergreen gifts prepared in the closet. this is great idea for another holiday if not for today. i love this. put that into your basket or soap. i think those are also evergreen and from soapboxsoaps.com. i've teamed up with timex at

$140. >> one last idea. let's say, i don't know, you spill the desert or you overcook the dessert. a lot of things can happen. >> i never get to the dessert because i'm quickly cooking everything else. do a hot cocoa bar. hot chocolate and fresh whip cream and your favorite toppings like chocolate savings and crunched out candy canes you grabbed off the christmas tree and no one will know your proposed dessert was not ready. >> looks delicious. cheers. >> happy holidays. >> thank you for the help today, as always. now here is russ. thank you. up next, forget "it's a wonderful life." mo rocca's christmas movies with a feel good attitude. especially that one.

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. ♪ i want to christmas is you ♪ this christmas eve you might be tempted to snuggle up to the fire with your loved ones and watch your favorite holiday movie. >> we asked mo rocca to come up with his list of christmas lifts. his list is more naughty than nice so be ready to cheer than cry. >> you may be along the millions

making the annual pilgrimage to macy's on 34th street but for a christmas movie road less traveled, follow me. love actually is an ensemble tour de force. the "laura linney". >> actually, i'm in love. >> reporter: of childhood love. love too long denied. >> you made the life i need so extinct! >> reporter: and love lost its spark. it looks like a dopey movie and packed with way too many stars but this is really good. trust me. in "die hard" a young bruce willis with hair is a new york city cop who thwarts in a cast by german terrorist barefoot. >> do you think you have a chance against us? >> yippee-kay-ay! >> reporter: enough murder and mayhem to last just through the

new year. for an r-rated santa you won't want to miss billy bob thornton in "santa. >> if i knew i had to put up this with, i would have killed myself a long time ago. >> reporter: he may be a cracking santa and one of the darkest santas you'll ever meet but his soft heart for an i abused kid makes for sort of a happy ending. for hauntingly beautiful white christmas, travel back in time to world war ii where gary sineese. a temporary truce on christmas eve and the meaningless war. "black christmas" is a house of horrors and i love it! olivia and margot kidder hunted

down by a methodical killer. >> what do you want? why are you doing this? >> reporter: the obscene phone calls wouldn't be nearly as scary without the 1970 telephones with a certain ring. in tim burton's "the nightmare before christmas," jack, the to discover the meaning of the season, the real santa is held captive by the boogieman. >> me on vacation on christmas eve? >> steven spielberg's o "gremlins." >> what is that? >> your new pet. >> that is really neat. >> the creatures turn bad, thank goodness as they are covered in goo. >> this is a cocoon. inside, he is going through changes. >> then "holiday frankenstein."

>> he does santa every year. >> the gremlins take over the entire time but they can't stop christmas. mo rocca, cbs news, macy's! >> how many of those are your list? >> none of them but so interesting so many of his is on yours. >> and "bad santa." >> i saw "national lampoon christmas" and it is take layerious. >> "bad santa." have no kids in the house when you're watching it but i guarantee you it is a scream. >> a mus mitchell favorite. >> that is right. up next, we dish about monday monaco's favorite dishes. are america's softest... no wonder people want to share them on and on. rmus mitchell favorite.

>> that is right. rite. up next, we dish about monday monaco's favorite dishes. >> that is right. up next, we dish about monday monaco's favorite dishes. ssmus mitchell favorite. >> that is right. orite. up next, we dish about aco's favorite dishes. in return, you'll receive a sample of new kleenex cool touch tissues... the only tissue that actively releases a cool sensation to soothe a sore nose on contact. kleenex. softness worth sharing. when you pour chunky beef with country vegetables soup over it... you can do dinner. four minutes, around four bucks. campbell's chunky. it's amazing what soup can do. great fall. ugh, it's my sinus congestion, and it's all your fault.

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will bring all your favorite dishes to life. ♪ do a dollop, do-do a dollop of daisy ♪ ♪ this morning, we have a very special holiday dish.

michael monaco, christmas is about family and friends. >> this morning, he has his ultimate christmas eve dish crown road pork and the chef joins us here. thank you so much for being with us. merry christmas. >> always a pleasure. >> happy holidays to everyone. great to be here. >> this is the crown roast pork here. >> i think about a celebration with family and friends is really making a roast and/or some big abundance of food. it's something we should be grateful for that we could do but a roast is perfect for big events because it makes a great presentation and a crown roast of pork is a loin of pork and you can ask a butcher to tie it to really take this shame. it really is a great thing to do for a party. i love it. >> looking at, it looks intimidating to make. is it? >> honestly so and. a little seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic, maybe some herbs in the oven, two, two and a half hours using an instant read

thermometer to get it ride to 150 degrees is perfect and let it rest 20 minutes. the whole key to a great roast for 20 minutes. it won't get cold. in fact, it continues to cook once it comes out of the oven. >> good information. you have this bill italig itali family. >> crown roast or a fresh or smoked ham are the things we did on holidays. i love it the most because it really does say you took some time to make something and yet it really is simple. what i love about a roast it goes in the oven while you make the side dishes and work on the side dishes. >> we have broccoli rob and some call it repeni. simple to cook in the pan. i have sun dried tomatoes and roasted garlic and pepper flakes on top of it at the end.

i love the dressing. the stuffing. >> so good. >> chestnut stuffing for christmas for the holidays. great for thanksgiving too and a traditional thing and worth taking the time to make a great stuffing. >> you have this dessert here. i'm not kidding. there was a guard today. nobody came to bother it. >> that's so true! >> what do we have? >> cream puffs were my mom's specialty dessert. she was renowned for her cream puffs. puffs of pastry filled with pastry cream. that is a traditional french dessert. they are all piled high and kind of welded together with caramel so they are extra special. >> i have to try that. you talk about your mom. is that what got you into this as a chef or what was your inspiration? >> i traveled through a number of things when i was in college. i was a theater major. and really worked as an actor for -- or didn't work! but cooking was always a passion and you know what? i have very, very fond memories of being in the kitchen with my mom 5 years old and learning to

shell fresh beans and clean vegetables, you know, which is where we all start in the kitchen is cleaning vegetables and my mom taught me those things and carried through my life. a passion for food and a passion for wine. >> tell me about this. >> this is a great champagne or italian sparkling wine. it's lighter than champagne. it has a little sugar cube in there with bitters and pomegranate juice or liqueur or both and it's lighter than champagne. it's really a presecco cocktail. >> if you could toast anyone across the table and enjoy this meal, who would it be, michael? >> that's a great question. for me, family is what -- not only our natural family, but our friends, it's the closest of people that i've always been attracted to at the table. friends, family. so who would i toast? i would toast my parents, i

really would. my dad struggled, came here enter fr som sicily and my mom grew up on the lower east side and i think they sacrificed and we have done okay. >> their boy did really well. we have a dish we would like you to sign. michael monaco, the very first chef on this broadcast. >> a lot of history. >> 14 years ago. exactly. >> it was a great honor then and it's great to be here with you today. really, we are in that way extended family, you know? we just done things together and we get to celebrate a holiday together or really extend sort of the holiday spirit to everyone and say it's a time to -- and also look after people. >> that's true. >> look after people who really don't have what they should have. so, you know, this is sort of the table that we do that at. >> tell folks at home you can get more on these stuff here and go to cbsnews.com/saturday.

michael? >> cheers. >> happy holidays all around. >> we will be right back. this is "the early show" on cbs. [ male announcer ] who fills their holidays with sawdust? ♪ with quarter inch holes and blueprints for the coming year? those of us with doers on our lists. and because it's always better to give than to guess, we can take these last few days of shopping and our holiday budgets a lot further. ♪ more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. there's still time to give a new project or two. pick up your home depot gift cards online or instore. ♪ ...you make a change with hellmann's. ♪ make parmesan-crusted chicken. ♪ surprisingly crispier... juicier... mmm. yummier. made with real simple ingredients.

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♪ it's the most wonderful time of the year." >> andy williams. why we love having you here, russ. you know every piece of news. >> that's right. rudy vallee. not victor. >> what year it was created in, you know? we want to share a couple of bits of news with you that are bittersweet. next week, here at the "the early show" it's our last week in this particular studio. we are moving to a new space and we are excited about it. we also have news about russ who had his very first on the very first early saturday show september 1997. >> i was here, exactly. >> he will be moving on. he will be moving to an exciting new chapter in his life. next week is going to be your last show. >> you're so nice. after 20 years at cbs, a fantastic place to be on, i decided to move on and going to a local television station in

cleveland, ohio. it's a brand x affiliate so i probably shouldn't give the call letters and looking forward to spending my last week here with you and cbs. >> thanks, russ. ♪ have a holly snolly christmas eve ♪ ♪ it's the best time of the year ♪ ♪ have a holly jolly christmas eve and when you walk down the street say hello to friends and old and everyone you meet ♪ ♪ ho ho the missile toe hung where you can see somebody waits for you kiss her once for me ♪ ♪ have a holly jolly christmas and in case you didn't hear ♪ ♪ by golly have a holly

jolly