Hoda Kotb Has an Incredible Tip For Managing Holiday Stress
Hoda Kotb
The holidays aren't exactly known for being the most relaxing time of year, and no one knows that better than Hoda Kotb. The Today Show co-host, 59, is extra busy during this time of year, because everyone needs a little bit of holiday cheer—and they know Kotb and her co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, will bring it.
Don't believe us? If you didn't catch her performing her song Carefree Christmas live on Today with Hager, well, we strongly recommend you watch a clip of it on YouTube.
"We were working on a story, and we thought, you know, let’s have someone teach us how to sing. There’s a cool vocal coach, Cheryl Porter, who we did a lesson with. And then we started wondering if we could actually do a song," Kotb tells Parade. "We kept revisiting it, and then Cheryl was like, 'We can have a song! We can do anything!' Cheryl wrote the chorus, and our producer Sean [Hickey] made the lyrics. It was crazy, and it was lovely."
Related: Jenna Bush Hager Shares the Exact Time of Year Her Family Always Picks Out Their Christmas Tree
In addition to amping up the holiday cheer on Today, Kotb is the mom of two young daughters, so it's safe to say she has her hands full. Here's everything she does to keep holiday stress at bay, plus her tips for avoiding getting sick and her 2024 New Year's resolution.
Managing Holiday Stress
Here's Kotb's #1 piece of advice for managing holiday stress: Walking away for 10 or 15 minutes and doing something that will help you calm down.
"You have to schedule mini breaks in your day. You’re not going to be able to take a ton of time when it’s hectic, but you can take 10 or 15 minutes," she says. "With that 10 or 20 minutes, you can do something relaxing. If listening to music makes you feel good, do it. If scribbling in a journal makes you feel good, do that. Try meditating for 15 minutes or going for a walk outside even though it's freezing cold out. If it makes you feel good, do it. Mini breaks, to me, are super important."
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Kotb also recommends adopting a bit of a meditative mindset when entering stressful family situations. "Set realistic expectations," Kotb suggests. "Sometimes people believe their family gatherings will be all hearts and flowers, but we all know that not all family gatherings are 100% perfect. You might know that an issue with an in-law, for example, and you know it's going to come up every year. It will come up for a few minutes, and you can acknowledge it and say—oh, there it is!—and then it will go back to normal. It’s just knowing things come and go in waves. It’s recognizing and then moving on."
Related: Mandy Moore Already Knows Her New Year's Resolution for 2024
How To Avoid Getting Sick
It's not exactly a secret that everyone is sick this time of year, and Kotb has a trick to keep her immune system up and running. "I do a little juicing every morning. I throw in a couple of handfuls of spinach, part of an apple and a probiotic. It’s about a 2-ounce cup," Kotb shares. "I don’t know if it’s psychological, but somehow I feel like it’s working and gives me a little boost in the morning. I try to drink a ton of water, too, even if I don’t feel like it. I try to drink one whole bottle right when I open my eyes and then I’ll have my juice and coffee."
And even though it's cold out, Kotb strongly suggests taking a walk outside. "Instead of taking the subway home, I’ll say, you know what, I’m walking today. I can walk through Central Park so I’m actually in nature."
Related: Nicole Ari Parker Shares Her #1 Holiday Wellness Tip
Kotb's Goals for 2024
While New Year's resolutions can be a controversial topic, Kotb is a big believer in making them.
"I love New Year’s Resolutions. I like any excuse to have a clean slate and try something," she explains. "I think in 2024, mine will be about my kids. I want to give them fertile ground to grow so they’re not forced into being someone they’re not. I want them to be who they’re intended to be, and not to feel like they’re putting a circle in a square in their life."
She'll also be continuing her podcast Making Space in 2024, which she describes as a "gentle place to land." "When I sit and talk to some of these people, I'm just blown away," Kotb tells us. "Some of them are people you’ve never heard of. There’s a woman named Lynne Twist, for example, who’s just an incredible human being. She talked about how a lot of people are afraid of scarcity, so they’ll buy 100 rolls of toilet paper before they give away one roll. She talks about how everything is meant to flow. If you have some, you give some. If you have a little, give a little. If you have a lot, give a lot. I like her way of viewing the world."
Kotb adds that everyone she interviews sees the world through a hopeful lens. "I love that, because there’s so much darkness in the world, and you can come here and be in a hopeful, bright place.”
Next up: Hilary Duff Shares the Unexpected Number of 'Elf on the Shelf' Elves Her Family Uses
