The TODAY team baked up a sweet Mother’s Day surprise for Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb on Friday.
Guthrie, anchoring the show from her home in upstate New York, was ambushed by her kids, Charley and Vale, who were armed with cookies. Meanwhile, in studio 1A, Hoda was greeted with a sweet message from her oldest daughter Haley.
The surprise began when Carson Daly scrapped the traditional PopStart segment and replaced it with “MomStart” instead.
“Let’s dedicate this to all the moms out there,” Carson said, while announcing the temporary rebranding.
Carson revealed how he was going to make a special cocktail for his wife Siri for Mother’s Day, while Al Roker said he was planning a special Southern breakfast for his wife Deborah Roberts and Craig Melvin gave details about a family hike with Lindsay Czarniak.
“Let’s not forget to toast two of our favorite moms, Savannah and Hoda,” Carson then said. “We wanted to do something special for Mother’s Day for you,” noting that they sent them cookies from New York City’s Levain Bakery.
“We have some special messengers. Savannah, take a look,” Carson said, sending Savannah into shock as Charley and Vale walked in with a card, a flower and a plate of cookies for her.
Savannah welcomed both kids to her lap in joy.
“Best present ever!” she exclaimed.
Hoda’s cookies were sent to her home because they couldn’t be delivered to the studio. Still, she got her own surprise: daughter Haley reading a video message from her and younger sister Hope.
“Happy Mother’s Day. Look what I made for you. One from Hope, one from me and a heart in the middle. Love you. Bye!” Haley said while holding up a colorful homemade sign.
“Love you, too! So sweet,” a touched Hoda replied.
“By the way, let’s always do MomStart, Carson, OK?” Hoda joked.