A Soldier's Surprise Homecoming For Christmas; Christmas Eve On Saturday Is A Bonus For Retailers.  Shoppers Beware: Pickpockets Love The Holiday Crowds
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On behalf of the 506 Expeditionary Medical Squadron, at Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq, we'd like to wish you all ...</s>PHILLIPS: Our thoughts are always with the military men and women deployed far from home, far from family, but it's different during the holidays. The distance seems greater. When our Los Angeles affiliate, KTLA had a chance to make a military family's season brighter, no-brainer. Here's Frank Buckley.</s>FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Major Herbert Sherl (ph) is almost home. In August, the air force major deployed here to Iraq, to an air base north of Baghdad. It is where he was supposed to stay until his unit came home at the end of January and too late for Christmas, and too late for the birth of his second daughter.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got a little girl, her name is Hannah, she's due January 20th. C-section is scheduled for the 18th and I was supposed to come home from Iraq after her due date. So, back in Iraq a couple of my commanders had mercy on me because we were overstaffed, and I got to come home early.</s>BUCKLEY: He told us, but he didn't tell his wife, who thought we were there to take pictures to send to the Major. Their two year old daughter, Emily, only knows that dad is in Iraq.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And hasn't seen her daddy in four months. So I think she's either going to be happy to see me or not know who I am.</s>BUCKLEY: Just listen to the moment when Herbert Sherl walks through the door. Little Emily sees him first.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy!</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honey, what are you doing here? Oh, my god!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi!</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are you doing here!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm surprising you.</s>BUCKLEY: The homecoming a Christmas present this family will never forget.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love you, too.</s>PHILLIPS: Well, people are going all over the country today. Many folks have already have reached their destinations, but a lot of other people are spending the day on airplanes, buses and trains. Millions of Americans are hitting the highways despite gas prices that are up about 40 cents a gallon compared to this time last year. With so many travelers on the roads and in the air, weather is always a concern.</s>PHILLIPS: This is the eve of Christmas Eve, if you haven't finished your shopping yet, well, there isn't much time as you know. But if you're planning a last-minute trip to the shopping mall, you're going to have lots of company. Of course, we see it every year, Keith Oppenheim, in Skokie, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. Hopefully you have yours done and making fun of everyone else, Keith.</s>KEITH OPPENHEIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, maybe like everyone else, Kyra, just in the nick of time. It's great weather here in Skokie, today, which is adding to the traffic, which I'll join right now. But, another thing that's adding to the traffic is really just the schedule of the holidays, Kyra. You have Christmas happening on a Sunday, allowing for an additional shopping day on Saturday, Christmas eve, tomorrow. And also, Hanukkah is a factor, too. That's often a holiday that takes place earlier in December, but because it comes later this year, that means that all that shopping is coming, a little bit later on. With me to talk about that is Enna Allen, the regional marketing director for Westfield Corporation, behind this mall here.</s>ENNA ALLEN, WESTFIELD OLD ORCHARD: Hi, how are you?</s>OPPENHEIM: You were telling me earlier that you're expecting 75,000 folks tomorrow on Saturday and you close at 6:00.</s>ALLEN: We do close at 6 o'clock. Absolutely, throughout the course of the day tomorrow, 75,000 people will visit this center. Typically believe people that the day after Thanksgiving is the busiest day in the mall, but that is not correct. The busiest day is the Saturday before Christmas.</s>OPPENHEIM: All right. Let's walk a little bit into a specialty store. That figure is how much more than norm, Enna.</s>ALLEN: That's about 25 percent more than we see on a typical Saturday during the holiday season.</s>OPPENHEIM: You can bring out one of those gift cards, because I want to talk about that. That comes from the mall, can you explain how that works?</s>ALLEN: This one is a Westfield gift card, however, all of our competitors across the country are doing typical types of products. This gift card can be used at any retailer throughout the entire shopping center. It's the perfect gift for someone who doesn't really know what to get for someone on their list.</s>OPPENHEIM: That sounds uncomfortably familiar. We're going into a place called Oil & Vinegar. This is a specialty shop. I'm in this place for a specific reason because right now I'll give you a list of the top, the hottest gift categories this season. And here they are: Gift cards is number one, as we were talking about; clothing, two; number three CD and DVD; number four books, number five, relevant to this location, food; six, hard cash and, number seven, sporting goods. Enna is seems like one of the things that people like are the specialty items. I have learned that although we are talking about overall a 6 percent projected increase for Christmas sales, overall for the season, the stores that are particularly hot are either the discounters or the high-end stores, just like this one, is that true?</s>ALLEN: Absolutely. A store like Oil & Vinegar has a very specialized product, much like a great bottle of wine. They feature oil and vinegars from around the world that are a little bit more high caliber than what you might find in a traditional grocery store. So, their products are hot and they're doing phenomenally this season.</s>OPPENHEIM: Kyra, do I have a little time here to eat some of the products?</s>PHILLIPS: You have all the time in the world, Keith. All the time in the world. We have no flow in these three hours. Wait, Jen said not all the time. I'll let you know, I'll give you the wrap. Go ahead.</s>OPPENHEIM: As I enjoy my brochette, Enna, tomorrow will be pretty much a mad house here, I would expect with the amount of traffic, right?</s>ALLEN: We anticipate that. Come early and bring good walking shoes.</s>OPPENHEIM: OK. All right, thanks. Kyra, back to you.</s>PHILLIPS: Are you eating with your mouth full? Didn't your mother tell you about that, Keith?</s>OPPENHEIM: Well, pretty full, yeah.</s>PHILLIPS: What, you're having brochette?</s>OPPENHEIM: Yes, brochette, with some other little sticks. The other thing that is cool about a store like this, not only do you have the option brochette, but also some oil and vinegar. And, as I can see throughout the store, quite effective in terms -- Chris, can you get a shot over here. Look at the line here. We're blocking everyone's exit.</s>PHILLIPS: They're appalled that you just double dipped.</s>OPPENHEIM: No, I didn't double dip.</s>PHILLIPS: Yes, you did. Scott, didn't he double dip?</s>OPPENHEIM: No, I didn't. I took a separate one.</s>PHILLIPS: Keith Oppenheim, we're looking forward to some of that in our little stockings from you. Thank you so much. Christmas Eve usually isn't a big shopping day, but retailers are expecting a big weekend this time around. Allan Chernoff live from the New York Stock Exchange, will tell us why. Probably because everybody can use mass transit now, Allan. That's why.</s>ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Certainly here in New York City, it has been a fairly lackluster holiday shopping season so far for lots of stores. But retailers and mall operators certainly are expecting to hear those cash registers singing on Christmas Eve. As Keith mentioned t has to do with the calendar. Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. Today and tomorrow are likely to be among the busiest shopping days of the year. Here in New York, the weekend is a chance for people who could not get to the stores during the strike, to get their shopping done. Stores all across the country are staying open later than usual to take advantage of the Saturday Christmas eve.</s>PHILLIPS: All right. Allan, we'll see you then, thanks. Straight ahead, something no holiday shopper wants to deal with, thieves. We'll unlock the secrets of pick pockets.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a pick pocket.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a pick pocket.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So is this one and so is this one.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are four guys here.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four guys?</s>PHILLIPS: Wow, shoppers beware. 'Tis the season for light fingers and lifted wallets. A report so good it's criminal. LIVE FROM has all the news you want. Stay with us.