It was a big day for the Today crew on Wednesday when they lit up the Rockefeller tree, debuted Jenna Bush Hager and Hoda Kotb’s Christmas song, and also released their holiday video card.
The TV family – including Dylan Dreyer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and Sheinelle Jones – presented their fun-filled card which was set to the tune of Kelly Clarkson’s 2017 song “Christmas Eve”.
Carson Daly introduced the clip when he said: “It’s that time of the year. We always get together to share some holiday cheer and say thank you to all of you our amazing viewers. We’ve got a brand new Today family holiday card.”
Hoda and Savannah kickstarted the video in front of an all-chrome wall and disco ball clad in festive clothes.
The rest of the crew also featured in the video which made the rounds on November 29 and saw the hosts throwing snowballs and decorations and jokingly arguing over gifts.
It was made extra special with the addition of Laura Jarrett who is the new Saturday Today co-anchor and weekend anchor Willie Geist was included in the holiday card for the first time.
Laura joined NBC News in January and took on her duties earlier this year after Kristen Welker became the new moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Al Roker’s appearance in the video was appreciated too as last year he was too unwell to feature. He was hospitalized twice with blood clots in his legs which traveled to his lungs.
Earlier this month he reflected on his severe health crisis while talking to his Today hosts.
In the nearly two months that he was recovering, his co-stars and fans alike waited with bated breath for his return – which he did so in January 2023 – even as he missed hosting the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in 27 years.
“The parade was not the same last year without Al,” Hoda said, to which Al added: “I feel pretty good… I feel like I’m back to like 100%.”
Talking of his lengthy recovery – and realizing his condition was far worse than he initially believed – Al noted: “Maybe you didn’t get there as fast as you wanted to, but as long as you get there, it’s OK.”
He said that he refusings to dwell on this condition and “would prefer to look forward”.”We’re really not guaranteed anything,” he added.
SOURCE : hello magazine .com
