She puts lights in them. Pretty amazing. And shes doing it quickly. By the end of the chat, shes going to have our hats prepared. Lets hope they fit. By the way, its so funny to look at people outside. Some people are wearing sweatshirts because its the weirdest weather week. It was almost 70 degrees yesterday in greenwich. Last week, i had a crazy weekend. Lets talk about yours. Right before the weekend, i had gotten a call to go and do a cameo. Im here, a cameo appearance on michael j. Foxs sitcom called the michael j. Fox show. And there i am, ready to go. What was your role . What were you doing there . Its very difficult. I play myself, and that is anne heche and michael j. Fox and justin long. I got to do a scene with those incredibly talented people. So much fun, and thank you so much. I cant wait to see this. Ann had to make an exit on the scene, and then we follow each other out, and we stood there for five takes watching justin and michael j. Fox. Just two masters go at it and how comfortable they are and how funny. How funny. So thats going to be on the Season Finale of the show. Thanks for having me. If you were up late on saturday night, you got to see one of the epic snls of all time. Lots of surprises. Jimmy fallon and justin timberlake, barry gibb, mayor bloomberg. Lots of highlights, but one in particular we have chosen to show you. It has nothing to do with them. It has more to do with us, so lets take a look. Nbc announced this week that Kathie Lee Gifford and hoda kotb will host a primetime special called a toast to 2013 where they recount their top stories from the past year, but shh, its actually an intervention. Okay. Ah. All righty, some of the most heart warming stories are the ones when we see our soldiers coming back from the front. And being reunited with the people they love. This is nathan qualls. He graduated from Arkansas Tech university this weekend. While he was receiving his diploma, he got a nice surprise. It was his brother. His brother is Army Sergeant cant get close enough. You can tell. How beautiful is that. Army Sergeant Qualls served in afghanistan from 2010 to 2011 is on his second tour in kuwait. So off, we see the parents and kids reunited. Such a beautiful thing. You dont usually see ones with the brothers like that. Its something about grown men like that, just makes you cry. It is beautiful. Good news. Or bad. Coach seats are going to be getting smaller. Wheres the good news. Just as we as a nation are battling our obesity problems, some airlines are tightening up. You know the goal, so they can put more seats in the plane so you pay your old seat price for a littler seat. Which is small to begin with. Less padding. And more battles over the arm rests and eliminating the recline. Heres are the ones already installing these seats. Theyre calling them slim line. You go, oh, good, slim line. Theyre southwest. Spirit. Yeah. And some other people we dont know. Heres the thing. I think its a bad idea. I really do. I was on a flight this weekend and in one of those seats you dont know when you book it, it doesnt recline. Look, its an emergency exit. But its also behind you so yours stays up. They pitch forward a little bit. Theyre very uncomfortable. If you have a long flight, you have a bad neck at the end. How are they reducing the padding . Theyre already uncomfortable. Theyre saying they will make extra, not save, make extra 200 million more by doing that. For the airlines . Putting six more seats on each. You know what . Heres the thing. Its enough. Think about your customers first. And fly from new york to l. A. In that slim line seat. You tell me that thats we should have those guys do that. The only place that works is the marketplace. People refuse to buy the seats, theyll change it back. Youre right. You are right. I know. We have another study out, you guys. Its a little surprising. Its saying we as women spend 12 hours a week worrying about how we look. Are you surprised its so little or so much . 12 hours seems like a lot of time in a week. Yes. Mostly its about our weight or our what . Makeup . And what were going to wear, hair, yep, yep. They say the average woman spends 627 hours a year worrying about her appearance. Thats 12 hours a week. Thats how they break it down. The biggest concerns are weight, blotchy or pale skin, and frizzy hair. Do something about it, put on a little makeup, throw a hat on, put on your spanx and get out of town. You know when you try on an outfit and you hate it and you go back. Thats 15 minutes right there. I dont do that anymore. You dont . I guess there was a time in my life when i did. What do you do . I dont know. I see it, all right, and go with it. Theres so many things more important to worry about. Thats a distressing theres enough stress on you. Dont put it on yourself. The world puts enough on you. Hoda. You know what its time for . Fan of the week. It is. Im so oh, it isnt. Favorite things. Wrong again. All right, this is really cute. This is my secret angel and me. Look at this, you guys. What is that . We all heard about the elf on the shelf, which is wonderful. This is your secret angel. Can you see it . I would be the worst weather girl. Its a wonderful little book and it basically says what . My secret angel and me, how the gift of christmas came to be. Its adorable. By ashley and rachel, 35. My secret angel and me. Com. What about you, hoda . I smell it. If your skin is crackly and dry and its the winter and you feel gross and you think i need the right moisturizer, the right cream. Who would have thought this would work, but you get it in stores. Its called dr. Bronners magic fresh pressed virgin coconut oil. Its 11. You can cook with it, look at it, look at what it is. Its like this. You take a little. And you put it on your hands. Does it dissolve. It smells like the beach. Its buttery. It does. It dissolves. You smell like the beach. You put it on your face before you go to bed. I smell like a peppermint patty. Nice, hody. Its lickable. You can cook with it, too. Its lickable. Why do you keep saying that . Im not tasting it. Ive been dunking my fingers in it. God knows who elses fingers have been in it. Its gross. It is now time for fan of the week, hoda. We were wrong before but were right now. Drum roll, please. Were ready. While we spin the globe looking for our winner, and it is cheryl mitby. I was so hoping she would get it. She watches us on channel 15. Are you shocked . Yes, oh, thank you so much. Look at cheryl. Were going to tell you what you won, but we love you, too. Before we tell you why you won, were going to tell you what you won, well tell you why you won. How much you kissed up to us. Cheryl has been a huge fan of the show since it started. This year, she showed extra special kathie lee and hoda holiday spirit. She decorating her Christmas Tree with homemade kathie lee and hoda ornaments complete with miniature wine glasses. She said the tree has brought a lot of laughter to her home. Even her husband approves of the tree and today marks their 46th wedding anniversary. This must be an extra special day for you. And cheryl, you might want to give him a little anniversary present, if you know what i mean . Guess where youre going . You can take him if you still like him. Where are they going . I love you two guys. You and a guest are headed to southern californias Coachella Valley for four days and three nights at the j. W. Marriott Desert Springs resort and spa. Youll enjoy a daily breakfast and you can explore the golf, tennis, and pool areas. Youll relax at the spa and enjoy a gondola ride. Complete with a dinner for two on the boat dock. Hotel furnishes are provided by j. W. Marriott, and round trip air trip is provided by the palm springs travel and convention bureau. I love you guys. Thank you so much. That tree is awesome. All righty. Sandy, are our hats almost done . Shes been busy. Happy holidays somebody has been hitting the cheer. We got all kinds of fun stuff for you here. Okay. Is that going to fit hoda . Actually, i did it on head bands so it wouldnt mess up your hair and so it would fit both of you. We have a cute party dot in there, give it sparkle and light. Have you been doing this since you were a little girl . I have been doing this for 20 years. I am so lucky. I have the best job in the world because my job is to make everyone happy. Can i ask you a question on National Television . Whats happening to these afterward . You can keep them. Can i send them over to cassidys place in new york. For the children over there that we take care of all year round . They woem last all year. Theyll be here today . Absolutely. Thank you. Well get them over. Sandy, youre adorable. Youre a sweetheart. My present to you. Other there you go. Thank you so much. Cheers. Merry christmas. See, i do share. If you were shopping and wrapping this weekend, well get you caught up on the hollywood buzz. Were about to meet four incredible kids. The kindest kids on the planet who know what the spirit of christmas is all about. We know the Christmas Season is all about giving and performing acts of kindness, so Sprout Network held a contest to find the kindest kid. From more than 650 entries, the contest was narrowed down to four finalists. Well meet the winner and the three runnerups first, but lets take a look at why theyre chosen. Im from san jose, california, and i read to the elderly. When i read to them, they feel happy. And that makes me happy. Hi, im ann from philadelphia, and i give my birthday presents to people in need. I know getting gifts makes me happy, so i want to make others happy. For my next birthday, im raising money to send one kid to camp. Im matteo from new york, pennsylvania, and im a kind kid because i keep the community clean. I formed a group called the litter critters and we meet once a month to clean up litter. Im emma from tucson, arizona, and im a kind kid. I give gift boxes to people with sick brothers and sisters. When i see the smiles on peoples faces, it makes me feel good. Yay you guys, you make angels smile. Do you know that . All of these kids are winners to us. Theyre ultra philips over here, and matteo, and the girl voted the chief kindness officer, emma locke. Congratulations to all of you guys. And to the parents who raised such great kids. Tell us why you like reading to the elderly . I like reading because reading is my favorite thing to do. Yeah, and what do you see on their faces when you read them a story . I see them smile and clap. Im going to give you a couple books to take home and read to them. Yay anna, youre giving away your presents to other kids . Yeah. Why did you decide to do that . Because i wanted to make other kids happy. Yeah. And how what was the first thing . What made you decide . Did you know a kid who needed presents . Or did you just decide to do it on your own . I just decided to do it. And matteo, was it just getting nasty around the neighborhood and you got tired of waiting for someone else to clean it up . Yeah. The adults werent doing it, so it took a kid. You take bag and you and your family run out and pick up everyt to a street with a lot of trash and clean it up. And you make it fun, right . I bet lots of people are joining you in the effort now, right . Yep. Thats so great. Hi, emma. Congratulations. How are you . Your brother was sick, right, and thats how you got involved in this . Tell us about him. Well, it started when he fell off the bed, but it doesnt really end there. Is he doing better now . Mmhmm. Good. You do lock boxes of love. Tell us about those. Well, the lock boxes of love, i started them because when chase started being sick, he got a lot of things. And i felt left out because because i was never involved in anything. So i felt like, you know, so i felt left out. And thats when i decided then when i got a gift, it made me feel really good. So i wanted to do that for other kids. That is so sweet. You guys are the best kids. I think we have a Little Something special for you guys for being such great kids. I hope you inspire lots of others out there to do kindness, too. Everyone has a little name tag. This is awesome. For all the hollywood buzz you missed over the weekend, and a Sweet Surprise one man will never forget, a sweet christmas story to help you keep the faith during the holidays right after this. [ female announcer ] imagine a match made in skin heaven. With venus and olay. Olay moisture bars help lock in moisture for less dryness while five blades get venus close. Revealing smooth. And goddess skin begins. Only from venus and olay. The Christmas Season is all about family and faith, and this is a remarkable story about both. Its from our friend, the best selling author of the godwink series described as life changing experiences. And ted harris story is just that. Take a look. My wife cathy and i were married 40 years. It was a wonderful marriage. Christmas was cathys favorite holiday. Her policy was, you cant decorate too much. I would string the lights outside. While she turned the inside into a christmas wonderland. Every year, she gave the children and me a special ornament. One year, mine was a little picture frame with her smiling face. When you pressed a button, it would say, merry christmas, honey. I love you. Have a happy new year. That smile is what characterized cathy. She wore it every day in her battle with ovarian cancer. For five and a half years. Christmas eve 2010 was the worst day of my life. That was the day i had to put cathy in the hospice. Three days later, she went to heaven. One year later, i arose early on Christmas Eve morning. I couldnt sleep, missing cathys sweet smile. I came down to an empty house, which i had decorated the way she liked. I turned on the tree lights and decided to light the candle that was next to the picture frame ornament that she always placed there on an end table. But when i flicked the candle lighter, the most unbelievable thing happened. The voice on the picture frame spoke. Merry christmas, honey. I love you very much. Happy new year. I checked the button. It was still in the off position. Now, theres probably a scientific reason for that happening. But in my moment of sadness, hearing her voice gave me comfort, knowing my angel was okay and she was not to be forgotten. I felt god was in the room. A godwink from heaven. Wow. Oh, my god. Thats definitely a godwink. Yeah. Okay, were going to segue to this, the duck dynasty ruffles more feathers. Plus, a big surprise at the box office. All in todays buzz. Were back with more of today on this fun day monday. Time for todays buzz. A tv news legend gets scooped by a hobbit, while mariah carey shows off her itsy bitsy teenyweeny red polka dot bikini. Here to fill us in is josh. Happy christmas. You, too. Lets start with the box office. Was this an upset, a surprise . A little bit. Bilbo beat burgundy, theyre saying. This is one of those most important weekends of the year. The last two weekends of the year are box office bonanza. There was an expectation that anchorman 2 would take up the top spot. Goes to show. How close was it . You should never underestimate 3foot tall australians because 37 million and 26. 8 million for anchorman 2. Its still admirable numbers. Still okay. The one i think people should keep an eye on is american hustle, which came in fourth with about 20 million, a little shy of 20 million, but its building and building. Its not in full release, right . We got full release just this weekend. It was in new york and l. A. Last weekend. Its a fantastic movie and i think its going to grow. Its getting great reviews. Lets talk Mariah Careys bikini shots. There was not an inch of cleavage when we were with her. Wow, fully clothed. In a ball gown. Look at her. I walked bambino just like that this morning. Shes in aspen. Shes in aspen and she posted these pictures to instagram. Walking her dog through the snow wearing that. And she posted she said the explanation on this was she said this is a tradition. This is a tradition. I guess, yeah, right . Whenever i walk my dog in the snow im wearing nothing but a red thong. And nobody at Tompkins Square dog park bats an eyelid. Not down there. Duck dynasty, theres still waves of controversy coming off of this. Quieting down a little bit . I would hope so. Eventually, people have to. Yeah, the Cracker Barrel had pulled all of the duck dynasty things from its shelves. That had his image on it. Then they got a huge deluge of complaints. They brought it back in. Charlie sheen has vented at him on social media. It still seems to be buzzing along. I dont understand why anybody thought a bearded old redneck duck hunter from the louisiana bayou would be a progressive civil rights leader in the first place. He made his feelings known long before. A e knew what they were getting into. They had the right to fire him if they want but he has the right to say what he believes. Hes also still going to be on the show. Hes not shooting the show, but they have a season up their sleeve. They have nine done of the ten. What do you think is going to happen with him and the show . I suspect they pick him back up because its such a highrating show, so much money in it, or he walks and another Network Picks up the show. I wonder, though, if hes able if they can all leave, because you sign yeah, well, they would have to agree. Im sure they wouldnt be able to leave without a es permission. Steve carell was on letterman, having a conversation about surgery. A hip replacement surgery. Hes only 51. Normally you might associate with it older people. Like me. 12 years ago, he was in an ice hockey accident. He had to get something done, but he didnt want to know anything about how the surgery was done. He was like, otherwise im going to back out. I dont want to hear the gory details. If i knew what was going to happen with my feet, i would have never done it, and im so glad i did. That was smart of him. A nurse named yolanda says, im going to shave your groin. He said, if i knew this was going to happen, i would have preshaved my groin. And they ask him, what do you want your hip made out of. Hes like im 30 minutes away. Couldnt you have asked me earlier. I guess ill take ceramic. Did it go well . Went fantastic and apparently hes going to play ice hockey again. Those guys have it in their blood. Boy, they love their hockey. Great to see you again. Merry christmas, sweetheart. Say his name again. Say it again. Cant remember. Okay. Some lucky shoppers getting a huge christmas surprise. Yes, hoda. Wait until you see it. Youll love it. Plus, the motivation you love to help you to keep the pounds from piling up over the holiday. Were down to the wire in our holiday challenge to help you cut the creep. And with christmas just t