Marlo's Holiday Message

Marlo Thomas Is 'In The Family Circle'

(CBS)  "In the Family Circle" Thursday morning, The Early Show featured a look at ways to simplify holiday stress while staying true to the season's message of giving, with help from actress Marlo Thomas, who is the national outreach director of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, and Betty Wong, executive editor of Family Circle magazine.

St. Jude, the third largest health-care charity, kicked off its second annual "Thanks & Giving" campaign a week ago, a program that is designed to encourage shoppers to give as they get during the holidays.

And, in the December issue of Family Circle, an article titled "Have Yourself A Simple Little Christmas" gives simple ideas for ways families can come together and maintain tradition.

The Thanks & Giving campaign arranges for shoppers at many stores (including Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, CVS and Nine West) to donate to St. Jude by giving an extra dollar at the cash register or buying a bear, or by buying the special "Thanks & Giving" book and CD. The campaign started the day after Thanksgiving and will continue throughout the holiday season. For more information, go to the St. Jude Web site.

"What we're saying to the consumer is, you're going to be out there shopping and having a great time, spending a lot of money," said Thomas. "Give thanks for the kids in your lives who are healthy and give to the ones who are not. One day, all kids can be healthy."

Thomas said she especially wanted the television audience to know that 84 cents on every dollar donated goes directly to the St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Co-anchor Harry Smith observed that, too often, "Christmas ends up being about 'gimme, gimme, gimme, get, get, get.' One of the messages in Family Circle magazine is: Bring the level down."

On that topic, editor Wong offered some surprising insight: A completely stress-free Christmas isn't much fun, because when you put in that extra effort and energy, the holiday feels special. But she dies advise that you reach for the stress that translates into that kind of enthusiasm.

Her short list:

Trim Your To-Do List. Write down all the things you normally do to prepare for the holidays, then eliminate the tasks that stress you out at the mere thought of them.

Delegate Duties. For example, instead of cooking an entire feast, why not have a potluck dinner instead? If you need help trimming your tree, host a tree-trimming party.

Create A Gift-Giving Plan. It really is true that it's the thought that counts and if buying gifts is brings you thoughts of stress, what good is that? Talk to your family and let them know that you want keep the focus of the holidays on spending time with loved ones, not on snagging the best deal at the mall. Maybe together you can create a plan to give only one gift per a person, pick names out of a hat, or buy presents only for the kids.

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