The 'Today' co-anchor is loving a New York City snow day!
Hoda Kotb is enjoying the holidays with her kids! The 56-year-old Today show co-anchor took to Instagram on Thursday to share pics of her daughters -- Haley Joy, 3, and Hope Catherine, 1 -- enjoying the snow in New York.
In one sweet pic, Kotb stands in the snow with a bundled up Hope, while another shot shows Haley, rocking a hot pink beanie, building a mini snowman nearby.
"Happy snow day," Kotb captioned her post.
On Friday's episode of the morning show, Kotb opened up about her holiday traditions with her family, which includes her daughters and her fiancé, Joel Schiffman. While the holiday season typically includes Kotb's mom and sister, this year it'll be "very intimate" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It will be probably me, Joel, and the girls. So sad, man, to think about that, because we're always together," she lamented. "We'll do a Christmas morning on Zoom. I'm excited that we get to sit with each other, even though it's virtually. I just realized how fortunate we should realize we are to have that."
Despite the smaller celebration, Kotb is looking forward to watching her kids, especially Haley, take in all the season has to offer.
"It will be more special because Haley, she's 3, so she's like, 'Santa's coming!' She's writing all these things. She wants to know how to spell Santa," Kotb shared. "It's fun because Haley now sees the chimneys. [She asks] 'Is that where he's coming down?' So it makes it more exciting."
While some things will look different this year, some will stay the same. Kotb and her family still hung their stockings by their chimney, made ornaments for their tree, plan to open one present each on Christmas Eve, are looking forward to a meal courtesy of Schiffman, and will wear matching pajamas.
"We all started the tradition of wearing the exact same Christmas jammies, which I'm not sure if Joel ever really liked, but he plays along," Kotb quipped, adding that she's excited about having a house that feels "warm and cozy and happy" this season.
The family also plans to donate some gifts to those in need this year.
"We're trying to keep Christmas kind of small this year for us. I was telling Haley already that we're going to have three presents from Santa, because I feel like this is the time we should be thinking more about giving. Giving, giving, giving," she said. "We've been trying to remind ourselves and our kids about that, that Christmas isn't really about all that stuff. It should be more about giving and generosity and kindness."
"I feel like this year more than any other, all of us, every single one of us, kids included, should be giving stuff away. Wrapping stuff up and giving it away 'cause it's such a beautiful feeling," Kotb continued. "I was thinking that for Haley and Hope too. Haley loves to give stuff away, so we're going to keep that tradition alive."
Above all, Kotb's looking forward to spending time with her family.
"The holiday season, to me, it reminds me of just family and being peaceful," she said. "...I'm just looking forward to the spirit of all of it. I mean, showing up for work, and seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree makes me feel good. I'm just happy about that. I just look forward to having Christmas music on and just that warm vibe, and to realize the spirit is alive."
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