And welcome to today on this sunday m im erica hill. Im lester holt. She dropped her g. Seven swams a swimming was her answer. She said seven swans a swimmin. It may be okay from you but apparently not from the judges. We are going to hear from renee a little bit later. In solidarity, we will drop our gs for the rest of the broadcast. We will talk a little Holiday Shopping. You told us you hadnt really started yet. Your focus is on tomorrow to do all your shopping. I was flipping through the papers. I have good ideas. I am in good shape. You are not alone the Great Holiday getaway continues. Lots of people heading out to get home for the holidays. We have a preview of whats in store on the rhodes and at the airports. It is going to be a rather quiet christmas we are told for will and kate, the prince and the dutchess have decided to do their own thing this year to break with the decades of royal family tradition. We will tell you how they plan to spend the holiday. We are going to show our skills in the kitchen from bonbons to beef wellington. We are making and sharing our favorite holiday dishes. I wonder whose will be the best and who came up with the lame excuse that the dog ate my bread. You are calling that an excuse . It sure sound like one. Wait until you see the sad face on the dog. Millions of people havent gun their Holiday Shopping yet. Lester is one of them. Michelle franzen is live in new jersey. Reporter plenty of people getting a move on here, leaving with big bags in hand. They will be joined by the masses as this morning continues. Not a typical sunday. Millions of shoppers around the country getting an early start because they got a late start to the shopping season. With just two days left to go before christmas, the mad dash is on for holiday shoppers. We have three boys and a wife to finish shopping for and my inlaws are coming. It is going to be tense the last couple of days. Reporter a mysterious mix of shoppers wrapping up or done. Im not a lastminute shopper at all. I have been ready since before thanksgiving. Reporter and others who are just beginning. Im just beginning. Im very last minute. My wife does all the shopping. Reporter procrastinators are in good company. A poll released by consumers reports found 132 Million People hadnt finished their Holiday Shopping, 26 million had yet to start. 17 million said they plan to be shopping on Christmas Eve. Uncertainty over the fiscal cliff is affecting how much consumers are spending. Retail analysts say holiday sales are on track to rise 4. 1 to 586 billion, the most optimistic forecast since the recession. Black friday did about 11. 2 billion in sales. They had very strong results compared tos la the year. Retailers are hoping that the consumers will come back and deliver the same strong results during the last weekend of the year. Retailers are pulling out all the stops in these final days. Some 50 off at some stores to longer shopping hours. Toys r us, macys and target are among the giant Department Stores staying open around the clock until Christmas Eve. Top of the list this season, smart phones and all things apple along with clothing and toys. The challenge now i know who i need to buy for but not what im buying yet. Reporter finding those perfect gifts before time runs out. A lot of those hard to find electronic gifts that are in demand, stores say they are refreshing their inventory even in these final days. Erica, i have my list . Do you need to add to it . I might need to, thanks. Here is lester millions of holiday travelers are on the move this sunday before christmas. Nbcs gabe gutierezz live in atlanta. Reporter so far, a smooth ride here. No major airports are reporting any significant delays. High winds caused problems on saturday in the northeast. So far today, the travel outlook is improving. From new york to washington to chicago its been a nightmare. So far, it is turning out to be a nightmare. Reporter starting midweek, a massive storm went through much of the country, dumping more than a foot of snow in some places, more than 1700 u. S. Flights canceled. I got delayed 24 hours. Reporter this was your bed right here . This was my bed, much cheaper than a hotel. Reporter on saturday, high winds delayed flights by almost two hours in washington and new york. Syracuse is still digging out. For now, air travel is slowly getting easier. Flightaware. Com reports that on thursday, there were more than 1100 canceled flights in the u. S. On friday, that dropped to about 600. By saturday, more than 100. For six hours. Reporter a few of the remaining problems on the west coast for another storm system brought rain and snow. In californias higher elevations, wouldbe skiers struggled along i80. It was quite a struggle to get to this point thus far. It is absolutely going to be worth it. Reporter for the 84 Million People expected to travel by car, good news. Gas prices are now an average of 3. 24 a gallon, down 20 cents in a month. For some families this christmas, even better news. Just ask kate black, who saw her daughter, a navy recruit, for the first time in nine months. It is unreal. We have been waiting and waiting. We were really worried about the weather but everything worked out. We are just glad to have it. For them and so many others home for the holidays that never sounded so good. Reporter its amazing the stories of determination and sometimes frustration you will find in the airport so far today. No big delays at any of the major airports throughout the country so far. That is good to here. Here is erica. A chance some of us could have a White Christmas on tuesday. It may not be where you expect to see it. Good morning. Good morning, erica. This storm is still very far away. It is still making its way onshore out near california. It is going to slowly trek across the country and were not going to see a lot of snow for christmas. I think at this point, a little goes a long way. You dont want it to affect travel all that much. We are going to see this storm eventually start to push to the east. There is the chance that as it moves through Salt Lake City and eventually down to the south and east, we are going to see the chance of some of the snowflakes falling back through oklahoma of all places, arkansas possibly as well. Monday night into tuesday. So you might be waking up to a White Christmas by the time we get into the Morning Hours of christmas in oklahoma and arkansas. As you can see, typical areas for White Christmas do not include oklahoma and arkansas. Thats why it is a little bit more unusual. That would be the bt chance offer seeing any sort of snowfall. Then, eventually, it will start to push to the southeast and we will be seeing snow through the rest of the week, erica. Thanks. Well get the full forecast in a few minutes. Lester . Turning now to politics, from the looming fiscal cliff to the ongoing con tro versus over the nras recent comments following the sandy hook elementary strategy. A lot to discuss with david gregory, moderator of meet the press. The president and congress have left town for the holidays. Any chance they might come back early, any sense of a deal in the works . I think there is a deal in the works. It is just a smaller deal. They will be back next thursday. I have been talking to folks on capitol hill and the white house. I think they are going for a smaller deal that could put off some of the effects of the fiscal cliff and get a tax cut extension for those making 250,000 or less. Wealthier americans would pay for. You would avoid the fiscal cliff for now. You kick the can down the road. This is washington dysfunction at its height but it would forestal the cliff i wonder if we are seeing a change to Speaker Boehner that got his hand slapped by some members of his party. Is there longterm damage here . The white house is that they dont have a real partner to negotiate with. Republicans are facing a reality that the public is supportive of raising taxes on wealthier americans. They are likely to have to support that. The question is always whether boehner is going to move forward without a majority support from his own party on a particular bill that may start from coming from the senate. These are debates that have to still be resolved. Even if there is a shortterm deal, these big issues over taxes and spending are far from resolved. If we get into the president s second term, they are still going to be occupying him. For folks who maybe may not have focused, if no deal is done, virtually, everybodys taxes would go up, correct . Correct. Automatic spending cuts to defense, other social programs. This is washington. Congress can act quickly when their backs are really against the wall. We could go over the cliff and they could still come back within a few days and do legislation that would mitigate much of the damage. You have the head of the nra on your program. We made that controversial statement about putting armed guards into schools. Where does this debate go, david . The big question is, twofold. Does the president want this fight. Is he prepared to extend the Political Capital to get gun control legislation. Does the nra want to be part of this discussion or not . Was Wayne Lapierre girding for a fight or does he want to be part of a broader discussion about how to deal with this kind of violence . David, thanks very much. Lets get a check of some of the other top stories we are following on a sunday morning. Jenna wolfe is here with those. Good morning to you. President obama will attend the funeral in hawaii for senator daniel inouye. They have been paying tribute to the late senator. The 88yearold died monday of respiratory complications. Harry reid is asking hawaiis governor to appoint a successor before the end of the year. His death leaves the democrats down one seat in the senate. Egypt appears to have its new constitution. The final official count wont be known until monday. Both sides say the islamicbacked constitution will pass. The nation is still divided over the pass it gives president morsi. Only about onethird of the voters turned out at the polls newtown, connecticut, while still in mourning over the Deadly School shooting is being flooded with gifts from across the country, from people expressing their grief. Social workers say while they are so grateful for the donations, including about 60,000 teddy bears, it is much more than the town can handle. They are suggesting that people do charitable work or make a donation in the victims name. More than 2. 6 million have been attributed to the towns official Memorial Fund file this under random acts of kindness. A group of about 100 people at Denver International airport wanted to say thanks to our troops who protect our country. They went to the airport and passed out stockings, full of candy, gifts, held up signs, anything they could. The group comes together every december 22nd to say a much deserved thanks to our troop. Nothing says Holiday Party quite like an Ice Sculpture and watching lester dance but mainly the ice. In northern china, it was all ice as their annual ice festival. With temperatures at 18 below, sculptors are building an entire city of ice that lights up from night from the inside and out. Everyone is welcome to visit. Lester is welcome to come and dance. This week, busy. Nobody knows that better than a guy named santa. We can confirm the presents are all on board. The naughty and nice list in is in his front pocket and his gps is calculating routes. We are good to go on all fronts. That is the news. Back to lester, erica and dylan. I am getting mean looks from lester. We should explain i busted a move in your office this morning. He did not know i was watching. I was like, that was great. He dances when no one is watching. Very nice, very nice. After a little eggnog, i will show you all. That will be in about 45 minutes. A lot of people trying to go out and finish their shopping. We are going to see really not a but we are going to see not a lot going on. The west coast is a big story, and its Still Producing tons of mountain snow and another to the or two is possible, but the rest of the country is quiet. Chilly through the plains, and the east coast will enjoy sunshine today and temperatures at about 40 degrees and we have showers and an isolated storm down in the east. Thats a look at the weather across the country, and now here is a peek out your window. I am chuck bell, and were off to a cold start this morning but the ferocious winds of yesterday are long gone and they are not coming back for your sunday. Temperatures now are primarily in the 20s, and there are cold spots, manassas, 19, and wald f waldorf, 23, and the forecast is filled with sunshine and mild. Temperatures in the mid that is your latest forecast. Lester . Dylan, thanks. Up next on today, a royal holiday. The will and kate way. Well tell you more about that right after this. [ male announcer ] watch out, casanova. Theres a new ladies man in town, and he knows to shop at walgreens during the holidays. We have great gifts at great prices, online and in the store. So youre sure to find something for that special someone even if you have several special someones. Shop walgreens for great gifts, like lindt lindor truffles, and most stores are even open Christmas Day, here. 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This year for christmas, william and kate better known as duke and dutchess of cambridge, instead of spending the holidays with its queen and the rest of the family, they will be celebrating with the middletons. We have more. Reporter it might have been her first christmas as a royal but last year, kate was definitely the star attraction. She said she liked it and wished you merry christmas. Reporter even Prince William couldnt upstage her and he was giving out kisses. So this Christmas Day, the crowds may be slightly disappointed. Kate and william will be having a quiet break with her family. This is probably to do with the fact that kate is not feeling well with her extreme morning sickness and wants to be near her mom. Reporter she is continuing to recover after spending three nights in the hospital earlier this month forcing her to cancel public engagements. Last week, she made a dazzling return at a bbc celebration for britains sports stars. Kate told them she was feeling well again. Since leaving the hospital, the dutchess has been recovering here at kensingtons palace. By going to her parents home, she and william are breaking with decades of tradition. Normally, the entire royal family gather at the queens country escape. It is not the first time kate has done things her way. No horse and carriage on her wedding day. No lady in waiting and we believe her baby wont have a fulltime nanny unlike her husband when he was a child. It just shows them to be a modern couple, prepared to do things their way. Reporter kates family has its traditions too. Pippa recently revealed their dad always dresses up in fancy dress costume and told a magazine, the Middletons Christmas should be blissfully calm. We are good at keeping each others spirits up. Reporter have a start to her pregnancy, thats just what she needs. Still to come on the sunday edition of today, can she maybe buy a doover. The wheel of fortune dispute that cost one woman thousands. She is here with us. First, these messages. Oooh. [ female announcer ]. Is all grown up. Oooh. [ female announcer ] jared presents beautiful, natural levian chocolate diamonds and chocolate cultured south sea pearls. Levian is the only company on earth to make jewelry with chocolate diamonds. Levian the leading family in jewelry from ancient royalty to todays red carpet. You will only find these styles at jared. Levian chocolate diamonds, theyre anything. But vanilla. Thats why he went to jared. The galleria of jewelry. Thats why he went to jared. Hersheys makes smiles. Smiles make more smiles. When the chocolate is hersheys. Life is delicious. Still to come on today, she knew the answer but when she solved the puzzle, this wheel of fortune player didnt get the one win. What happened . Were going to speak with her coming up the holidays can make some holiday situations. Advice to how to avoid the worst of them. First, these messages. Were gonna save you money. With Straight Talk at walmart, you get unlimited talk, text and data for only 45 a month per phone. Would we get the same coverage . Same coverage on americas best networks. You saved 146. 76 by switching to Straight Talk. Awesome now you can afford to share your allowance with me. Get the seasons hottest smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy s2 and get Straight Talk with unlimited data for just 45 a month from americas gift headquarters. Walmart. Id like to thank eating right, whole grain, multigrain cheerios mom, are those my jeans . [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who dont. Multigrain cheerios good morning. Its 8 26 on this sunday, december 23rd. I am richard jordon. Topping your news, police say a serial arsonist has struck again. This is the 37th time since november 13th somebody has set fire to an abandoned structure in the county. Nobody has been hurt in any of the incidents and Police Believe the same person is behind most of the fires. And then police cruz are trying to figure out what caused the fire that displaced four. Firefighters say it looked like it started in the garage. The family got out of the home unscathed but they are looking for temporary shelter. Another day of smooth sailing on the metro lines. There will not be track work on four of the lines, and the only exception is on the green line. Normal weekend track work will pick back up the weekend after new years. Storm team 4, chuck good morning wow. Want to start thviday with something heart healthy and delicious . Youre a talking bee. Honey nut cheerios has whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol. And it tastes good . Sure does right. Wow. Delicious, right . Yeah. Its the honey, it makes it taste so. Well, would you look at the time. Whats the rush . Be happy. Be healthy. We are off to a cold start today, but a lot less wind, compared to yesterday when everybody was holding on to their hats. Lets talk to chuck bell. Good morning, everybody. Our colleague tweeted me yesterday and wanted to know if she should deflate her inflatable santa claus, and if you did, today you can reinflight your santa without fear of it blowing away. A bundle up factor for sure on your way out to get things done today, whether its a trip to the mall or sunday services, and a good traveling day as well, and no more high wind impact weather reports. Tomorrow, cloudy and cold rain likely to see a sleet pellet or two. We have a full hour of news, and we will talk rg3 and Holiday Shopping. What more do you want . We will see you after the today show. Jingle bell rock back on a sunday morning two days before christmas, december 23rd, 2012. A nice crowd stopping by here. Again, they are waiting for the stores to open so they can do their Christmas Shopping or maybe check out the tree. We are happy to have all of them happy here as well as you at home. Im lester home alongside erica, jessica and dylan. Still to come, confusion and a little bit of controversy around a particular episode of wheel of fortune. She pronounced this phrase but maybe dropped the g. It sounded like she got the answer. Host, pat sajack, said no. We will get her story. It is the holidays in addition to the trees and shopping. There are those family get togethers that can lead to lovely, awkward moments. We will help you avoid the pitfalls of the holidays. The four of us are really big on assignments. We were giving the assignment holiday thing to do at night of making our festive holiday dishes that are near and dear to our heart. Fourth of us went home last night. We each made a dish we usually eat at our holiday meal. We have all brought them in today. We are not competing. We are comparing. We are sharing. Dylan thought it was a competition, because we know this. She is the overachiever that brought in cupcakes. I didnt see the cupcake. Where are those . They are somewhere. They didnt turn out good, so dont even worry about it. And beef wellington, we might add. On top of that, you have a check of our weather. And it is perfectly cold for the Holiday Season. Everybody trying toerfectly col Holiday Season. It is looking like a sunny day in the northeast, at least, but we do have a couple snow showers possible as we go into Christmas Eve. Thats always nice, something you want to hear, as we go into Christmas Eve and early christmas morning, showers, but nothing too early down across the rest of the southeast, and we have snow across most of montana and wyoming as well, and then the christmas forecast, light snow possible in oklahoma and down into arkansas, but we do have a chance of some severe storms possible in eastern texas all the way over into western georgia, so something we will keep an eye on for Christmas Day and then the whole storm system pushes east and it looks like rain through most of next week across the east coast. Thats a look at the weather across the country and now heres a peek outside your window. I am chuck bell, and its bright and sunny outside but cold. Gaithersburg, temperatures in the 20s. And fairfax to falls church, low to mid20s now. A cold start for sure, but 100 sunshine in the forecast for today. Highs today well up into the mid and perhaps even the upper 40s for a were saying happy birth day to uncle kelly from mississippi. Real warm down that way. Tonight is sunday. Tonight is football night in america. We are headed out to the Pacific Northwest as the 49ers take on the seahawks. Obvious obviously, pretty cold and rainy for your sunday night in america. Dylan, thanks some fans of the hit game show, wheel of fortune are crying foul after contestant renee did your rant was passed over for mispronouncing a word. First mike taibbi has the story. Reporter the squares were filling in and anyone watching who knows the 12 days of christmas probably had the answer. Renee durack did too. Seven swans a swimmin well, thats not right. Renee, who had nearly 4,000 on the line had said swimmin, not swimming. Seven swans a swimmin. Amy got it right but seemed to feel bad about it. Seven swans a swimming. Do you know what happened there . No. Well, renee knew what happened as well. It was easy to do, because you kind of did it in the ver knack cuellar and left off that. A terrible decision to rob that poor woman of her victory. Wont be watching anymore. On twitter, thats cold. Shame on wheel of fortune. You got to be kiddin. It has been an american tv staple for nearly four decades. Like all successful game shows, there are rules. The show has been on for a long time. Im sure they have had situations like this before. If anybody knows the rules of the show, it is pat sajack. Fact, right answers called wrong because they were mispronounced, no. What is wimbledon. We have to take some money away from you, reid. I am informed you very clearly said wimbleton, not wimbledon. Renee was up 8,000 and could have won more. When you are playing a game for money, the rules after gold finger played the wrong ball out of a rough. We are playing strict rules so im afraid you lose the hole and the match. Can be both strict and costly. For today, mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. Renee joins us exclusively here this morning. Nice to have you with us. This was taped three months ago. It just aired. How are you feeling about it, especially now that you are reliving it . Its amazin, because we taped three months ago and i had to keep the big secret. We had a little party athe house and had everyone over. Everyone got to watch it together. Thursday morning i wake up and everybody was like, you are everywhere. Everywhere. Youtube, everything. Everybody is so supportive. It has been so crazy, because it is blowing up. Im from florida. The g is silent. A couple of times you have dropped the g. I called the g. I knew the g was there. It happens. Unfortunately, it happened in a way that was not necessarily in my favor. I understand. They have their rules. Its disappointin because you think you are an a roll and everything was going great. You could tell pat was a little uncomfortable. He said yes but the judges said no. It was kind of a yeah like he expected me to have it because it is wa the letters that were up there. He spent a little bit of time explaining it to everybody, the v vernacular and how things go. The other contestant looked a little bewildered. How awkward was that . The whole tenure of the show changed. She thought i had said it. Thats when pat had to explain it all. Everybody was cordial about it but it was disheartenin. You have been a fan for a long time. This was a big deal. It was a big deal. It was a fantastic experience to have. How many people get to be on the show at all, let alone have such an internet crazed blowup after the fact. I didnt win the show. You did walk away with some cash. I did win 8200. There is no appeal you can do on that . I cant imagine. The game show court of appeals. Thats a good idea for a new show. A new reality show this fall on nbc. Renee, nice to have you here. Thanks so much. Enjoy the holidays. Up next, avoiding uncomfortable moments at the Holiday Season just like that awkward pause. Who is reading that line . Here, you take thisone, lester. Well have ed i cut tips from giftgiving and lastminute invitations. And jingle was a good dog. Ruff ruff jingle loved to bark hello. Ruff ruff ruff ruff jingle even loved to sing. Ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff jingle lets read the book to him. Jingle, stay. And jingle did. Ruff ruff [ female announcer ] hallmark interactive story buddies. When you read key words, jingle responds. Cheese plate . Cheese plate. Nope. I made something better. You used the oven . Boom [ male announcer ] pillsbury crescents. Let the making begin. Advil pm® or tylenol pm. The advil pm® guy is spending less time lying awake with annoying aches and pains and more time asleep. Advil pm®. The difference is a better nights sleep. Etiquette this morning on todays countdown to christmas, handling awkward holidays, here to help tab tackle some touchy subjects, anthony and philip, author of social cues how to survive the quirks, quandries and quagmires of today. Our first question. Dylan is out there with someone from the crowd. Reporter we have angela here. I love this question. This has happened in my family before. Whats your question . What do you do when a geflt brings a child to the Holiday Party who has a contagious illness like flu or conjunctivitis. It is nice when they are coughing over your food. It is the holidays. People make bad decisions because they are so frazzled. I would probably try to quarantine the kid. I think it would be too harsh to try to send them home. Oh, your son looks a little sick. Why dont we get him into the guest room and put him in there with some toys. And lock the door. And lock the door, slide some crackers and water under it. You are basically talking quarantine. Sort of quarantine. Do you agree . I agree, absolutely. The most you could probably say, little jimmy doesnt look sow hot. I would feel so much better if he was home resting. Thats the most you could say to encourage them to change their mind. The next question, viewer email comes from zajane in ohi. My sister always gives my kids extravagant gifts sometimes unstaging santa. Ive tried to talk to her. She says she can be as generous as she wants to be. How can i tell her to stop spiling my kids . She has talked to her once and this hasnt worked. Some people think they have talked to someone. You need to be fairly direct. The kids are going to love whatever you give, no matter what. We would really like to be santa. You cant go as far as holding back the presents. Let the kids appreciate them and send their thank you notes. I think you can make a strong point to the sister about you and your husband trying to cut down on the materialism at ch s christmas so she doesnt feel like it is an attack on her but a family project. Maybe she will tone it down. It would be a lot worse if she didnt care about your kids. This is true, this is true. As an aunt, whats the big deal. I got my nephew a car. He is 2 1 2. Im not sure what the big deal is. Dylan is out on the plaza with another question. Reporter we have robert. Im an ontime person, i love this question. We invited our family to dinner this year. We told everyone it is going to be at 1 00. What do we do at 1 00 if people show up late. Do we start our dinner at 1 00 . Fashionably late when it comes to a Holiday Gathering like a christmas luncheon. You want to wait. No one is going to die of starvation if you wait a half hour. Is that the cutoff point . I would wait a half hour. I would sit them down. When they walk in the door, you would say, gosh, were sorry. We started without you. Come on in. Try to make them feel as welcome as possible. We have got to make the trains run on time. Especially with all the time put into preparing these beautiful holiday meals. About a half hour, keep a plate warm. They can join when they get there. Dont make it awkward. Where were you guys . Dont make it on . Thats the really good impulse to squelch. Absorb somebody elses mistakes. We have emails from marcus in new haven. My two best friends have been es strained for almost a year. I would love to get us back together again. Can i invite them both to a holiday dinner and not tell them what im up to . It is a really good impulse. I dont think tricking people into making up, its not going to work. They might get angry with you. Why not be up front with them and say, a year is long enough, you guys. Come to dinner at my house and lets see if we can just get things back on the right track . Not the ambush. The christmas ambush. The ambush doesnt work. You dont know. A year, they are pretty committed to whatever happened. If the answer is no, you have planted the seed for them to maybe start to reconcile. Dylan, you got more questions out there. Yes, i do. Renee has a great question about a very awkward situation. At work, i commented on an ugly christmas sweater and it was her nice christmas sweater. How do i remedy that situation . Well, you could quit. Maybe some extra holiday cookies for this person as an apology. E o, youthis is right up th oh, youre having a baby. No, im not. Just smile. Please forgive me. Im so sorry. Total selfdeprecation. Im an idiot. And, by the way, that sweater really is ugly. If you didnt get it the first time. Thanks very much. Happy holidays to both of you. Our weekend today holiday potluck, we will share some favorite holiday dishes and no insults, right . No, never. Not at our holiday. [ woman ] dear cat, your hair mixes with pollen and dust. I get congested. But now, with zyrtecd®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. Zyrtecd® lets me breath freer, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtecd®. Behind the pharmacy counter. No prescription needed. Just unroll it, fill, top, bake, and present. That must have taken you forever it was really tough. [ female announcer ] pillsbury pie crust. Let the making begin this morning on todays kitchen, a holiday potluck. Last month, lester, our selfproclaimed pie master and dylan went head to head in a thanks giving spot. Ever since then, we wanted in. Everybody has brought in our favorite holiday dishes. Jenna, it figures you would come up with a healthy option. You are not shocked. Truth be told, im not so good in the kitchen. Every year, i make the holiday salad at our house. We grew up in the caribbean. There is a little bit of caribbean flare with the brightness of the salad and a citrus dressing and pomegranate seeds. Oh, great. Fruit dropper. This looks delicious. Take a little bite. Some crumbled blue cheese, walnuts, butter lettuce and grapefruit. Enjoy it. Also, dylan took my fork. Its really simple but a really great compliment. The grapefruit and blue cheese are really very nice. So after the salad, we move on to and comparing it to, i cant even believe i made a salad. You made beef wellington, dylan. You can buy this in a restaurant. You can make this fresh. It is just crescent rolls. This is the easiest thing to make. You make it the day before. You take a filet, a tenderloin and sprinkle it with salt, pepper, garlic power, cook it the night before for 40 minutes. The next day, you take the premade crescent rolls and roll it up. Should we take a bite . Are you cooking this dinner, dylan . I might make this. My house is pure chaos. We did just move. It is really simal to make. You dont eat red meat. But the pastry was so good. The pastry was amazing. It is very good. Erica, you were up last night making french toast but the dog ate an important ingredient. My husband and i discovered this recipe a few years ago. It is a baked french toast. So you can make it Christmas Eve and just throw it in the oven in the morning to make sure they eat something. If you need to, you can cut it up and they can take it in the car. Last night, we came home. My mother had our kids for the night, which was very nice. We went to dinner. I started to get my ingredients out and i couldnt find my loaf of hallah brad. I found a wrapper on the floor in the dining room, jake. Jake would be our tenyearold dog who doesnt think the rules apply. Jake enjoyed the bread. When jake belched, that was your clue. There is the jayman looking so sad. Interestingly enough, he needed to go out when i left the house. That picture had jake with the sun shining. No. I took that last night. Im going to try it. We have real maple syrup. You just beat up some eggs, some milk, some spices, poor it all over in a baking dish, thick slices of hala. Before you put it in the oven, let is sit overnight. Before you put it in the oven, add some blueberries. It is so much less messy than regular french toast. So much better than a bowl of egg whites. Look at all the accidents you are avoiding. Im blown away. That was really good. We are going down the line with health. Here is lester. There is nothing healthy in this bonbon. My mom used to make this every holiday. I know i havent had them since i was a teenager. She was coming to visit. I said, bring that recipe. She dug it up. Yesterday, between shows, i made it. It has coconut, some nuts and lots of sugar and lots of butter. It tastes really good. Are these hard to dip . I find when i making any with chocolate, i cant make them. It calls for paraffin wax. I panicked. I said, mom, you cant eat paraffin wax. I did this without paraffin wax. Whatever you did it with, its delicious. Really good, really good. Thank you. We should all get together and do something, at least food. Were going to make our plans. You make your plans and well be back after this message. T, righ . Uhhuh. I know this hasnt always been easy for you. And im really happy that youre in my life, too. Its just like yours, mom [ jane ] behind every open heart is a story. Tell yours with my open hearts collection at kay jewelers, the number one Jewelry Store in america. There are millions of reasons to give one, but the message is always the same. Keep your heart open. And love will always find its way in. Thank you. Thank you. Every kiss begins with kay before we go this morning, we want to say goodbye with todays life illustrated in the holiday pictures you sent us. Meanwhile, ill see you back tonight in the holiday news. Have a great sunday so long. The debate over gun control takes aim in the district. This has the head of the nra calls for armed guards in schools. Now the height of the holiday rush is impacting our area. And cleared for play. The countdown is on as Robert Griffin iii gets ready for his return. Welcome to news4 today. Its sunday, december 23rd, 2012. What a difference a day makes. We are waking up to calmer conditions. But its still cold out there. Lets go to meteorologist, chuck bell, for more