Hoda Kotb Marks Her 'Last' Thanksgiving Day Parade Broadcast with Flowers from Cynthia Erivo: 'We Love You'

"Thank you for all of the hard work you’ve done all of these years," the 'Wicked' actress told Hoda Kotb

Cynthia Erivo is giving Hoda Kotb her flowers.

On Thursday, Nov. 28, the Wicked actress, 37, celebrated the longtime Today show host’s final turkey day with NBC by giving her a bouquet of white flowers during the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade broadcast.

The TV personality, 60, announced her departure from Today after 17 years (and 25 years total working for NBC) in September. She celebrated Thanksgiving for a final time on the show alongside longtime co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Al Roker.

When Erivo made her appearance during the broadcast to discuss her new hit movie, she arrived with a special gift for Kotb.

Erivo told Kotb, "Before you even begin, yes, these flowers are for you because I know that this is the last Thanksgiving parade you're doing."

The actress continued to say to an emotional Kotb: "I wanted to celebrate that and I wanted to say we love you. Thank you for all of the hard work you’ve done all of these years."

Last month, Kotb opened up to PEOPLE about her decision to leave Today in early 2025 and, more specifically, the “best seat in television” — a.k.a. her coveted role anchoring alongside Savannah Guthrie and co-hosting the morning show Today With Hoda & Jenna with Jenna Bush Hager.

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“I've kind of been contemplating, wondering, thinking about what I wanted this next chunk of my life to look like as I turned 60,” she said. “And I like adventure, I like new beginnings. I'm a sunrise person and not a sunset person, and I was wondering, what does it look like for me?”

As for a successor, Kotb said, “Whoever's interested in that seat, and it's maybe the best seat in television, I think the best advice I have is to be 1000% who you are, because that's really the key.” (Craig Melvin has since been named her successor.)

"And the other thing, too, is sometimes to me, part of the magic is to be able to delight in the person sitting next to you,” she continued. “It's such a small thing, but sometimes when you're with someone, if you just let them shine."

Related: Hoda Kotb Reveals She Already Planned How She's Spending First Day After Today Show Exit: 'I'm Sleeping In' (Exclusive)

Added Kotb: "Give everyone a second, because who wants to be the person at the cocktail party who's talking all the time?”

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The TV personality's decision to leave Today followed a year of personal turmoil. Last February, Kotb's 5-year-old daughter Hope experienced a sudden medical crisis — the nature of which she has not publicized out of privacy concerns — leaving the anchor and her family searching for answers and long-term care solutions.

This year, Hope's situation stabilized, and Kotb moved both her and her older sister Haley Joy to Westchester, where they can now spend time “being barefoot” in their backyard, she told PEOPLE.

“We're in a place where Hope is thriving. She is improving, we're watching her, and I think that as time goes on, we'll have a better handle on it, but we're already seeing great differences,” she said. “We have really excellent care, I have people who are helping us out. I feel like she is finding steady footing.”