Hoda Kotb’s Christmas Shift Isn’t What Fans Expected—And There’s a Reason She’s Keeping It Subtle. Hoda Kotb is quietly rewriting Christmas this year, choosing stillness over spectacle. In her latest Joy 101 note, she hints at a holiday built around small, glowing moments instead of perfection. Then she mentions a private scene with her daughters, one she almost didn’t share and suddenly the whole season feels like a turning point.

This holiday season, Hoda Kotb is starting a fun new tradition with her daughters Haley, 8, and Hope, 6.

The former Today host opened up about how she’s creating a stress-free holiday in the Tuesday, December 2, edition of her newsletter. “When it comes to the holidays, I find it’s helpful to kick perfection to the snowy curb. It’s not happening!” she wrote. “Cookies will burn, ornaments will break, and our Elf on the Shelf will never be an overachiever.”

As for her new holiday tradition? “This is the first year we’re doing Elf on the Shelf, and my daughters can’t wait to see where he ends up each morning after visiting Santa,” Kotb revealed. “So far, he’s returned to a shelf. I think Haley and Hope imagine more inventive scenarios because they regale me with stories of where their friends’ elves have been spotted: He was zip-lining across the kitchen! He was making snow angels! He was at a tea party with marshmallows!”

Kotb, for her part, is taking a more relaxed approach to her kids’ Elf on the Shelf. “Our elf is a shelf guy. Maybe a window sill,” she quipped. “It’s the anticipation, not the location, that’s driving the girls’ excitement, so we’ll stick with keeping things simple. While I marvel at the creativity and commitment of other Elf handlers, I know myself. One day, one shelf at a time.”

Hoda Kotb/Instagram

Kotb wrapped up her newsletter by offering some advice on how to manage this time of year’s more stressful moments. “As December unfolds, give yourself a quiet moment to breathe and think about what you can gently let go of this season,” she wrote. “Here’s a little journaling prompt to guide you: What’s one simple way I can ease the pressure this holiday so I can feel more joy? Write it down and carry it with you. Let’s get ahead of maintaining the merry this season!”

Kotb started her email newsletter with the launch of her wellness company, Joy 101, earlier this year. Joy 101 is one of several projects Kotb has worked on since leaving her Today hosting role earlier this year, including her latest book, Jump and Find Joy.

When Kotb announced her Today exit in September 2024, she cited wanting to spend more time with her daughters as a big reason behind her decision. “Obviously, I had my kiddos late in life, and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time, that pie that I have,” she explained on the show at the time. “I feel like we only have a finite amount of time.” (Kotb shared her daughters with her ex-fiancé, Joel Schiffman.)

Kotb kicked off the 2025 holiday season by reuniting with Today‘s Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker to cohost the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, November 27. Her daughters and more family members cheered her on along the parade route. “Uptown girls!” she captioned a Friday, November 28, Instagram post featuring snaps of Haley and Hope watching the parade.

That same day. Kotb shared more pics of her family’s Thanksgiving festivities — which also double as a birthday celebration for her brother, Adel. “Happy thanksgiving xoxoxo,” she captioned the Instagram slideshow, the first slide of which featured a group selfie of her family at the dinner table.