See ‘Today’ Stars Celebrate New Year’s Together With Their Families
What To Know
- Al Roker, Craig Melvin, and Hoda Kotb celebrated New Year’s Eve together with their families before leading the 2026 Rose Parade.
- The gathering included Roker’s wife and son, Kotb’s two daughters, and Melvin’s wife and children.
- The Rose Parade marked one of Kotb’s major TV hosting gigs since leaving Today in January 2025.
Several of Today‘s biggest stars gathered their families together to celebrate the new year.
Al Roker and Craig Melvin reunited with their former cohost Hoda Kotb to lead the 2026 Rose Parade on Thursday, January 1. Before the floral festivities, the trio rang in 2026 at a special dinner with their loved ones.
“What a great way to start #2026 with @hodakotb and her girls and @craigmelvinnbc and @lindsaycz and their kids,” Roker captioned a Thursday Instagram post. “Another fantastic #newyearseve dinner at @bistro45pasadena to fortify us for hosting the 137th @rose_parade on @nbc.”
Roker’s wife, Deborah Roberts, and his 23-year-old son, Nick, joined him in California for the Rose Parade. Kotb journeyed from New York to the West Coast with her two daughters — Haley, 8, and Hope, 6 — whom she shares with her ex Joel Schiffman. Melvin, meanwhile, turned his Rose Parade hosting debut into a family affair by bringing along his wife, Lindsay Czarniak, and their two kids — Delano, 11, and Sybil, 9.
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Roker’s post included several photos of the three families spending time together on New Year’s Eve. The post featured photos of all the boys and girls posing together, as well as a sweet group photo of everyone gathered at the dinner table.
Kotb shared similar photos in an Instagram post of her own, including a shot of herself with her two kids. “Happy new year!!!!” she captioned the Thursday upload. She followed up the post by sharing behind-the-scenes Instagram snaps of herself, Melvin, and Roker at the Rose Parade.
“Fun day at the @rose_parade with @alroker and @craigmelvinnbc,” she wrote alongside the photos, adding, “Craig you crushed your first rose parade!”
Roker also praised Melvin’s performance in an Instagram parade post of his own, writing, “How do you make our @nbc @rose_parade coverage even better? Add one @craigmelvinnbc then a generous amount of rain water, stir and watch for 2 hours. What a great time we had.”
The Rose Parade marked one of Kotb’s biggest TV hosting gigs since leaving Today in January 2025. Back in November 2025, she joined forces with Roker and Savannah Guthrie to cohost the 2025 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
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Roker and Melvin appeared on Thursday’s episode of Today, though the 2026 celebration was prerecorded. The episode also featured Jenna Bush Hager, Carson Daly, and Guthrie, the latter of whom is currently on break from the series to undergo surgery for vocal nodules and a polyp. Her return date has not been announced.
Weekend Today‘s Laura Jarrett and Peter Alexander have stepped in for Guthrie and Melvin this week, with the expectation of Thursday’s episode. Episodes of the third hour of Today and Today With Jenna & Friends have also been prerecorded.
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