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Mariah Carey began her countdown to Christmas as soon as the clocks struck midnight on November 1, but not all celebrities are so eager to rush to the end of December just yet.
Jenna Bush Hager, for one, said she's planning on a big Thanksgiving. On Tuesday's Today show, Hager and co-host Hoda Kotb discussed the upcoming holidays. Hager said she plans to "really go in on Thanksgiving" while noting that Christmas celebrations seem to begin earlier each year.
Carey, who filed a trademark application this summer for the term "Queen of Christmas," got into the Yuletide spirit as soon as Halloween officially ended. She posted a video on her social media accounts that began with her in a witch costume before a dramatic transformation shifted to her wearing a red Santa Claus outfit and proclaiming, "It's time!" The clip ends as her famous hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You" begins playing.
While not addressing Carey's proclamation directly, Hager indicated on Today that her focus will first turn to Thanksgiving before Christmas.
"You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna really go in on Thanksgiving," Hager said after Kotb said her family will be celebrating the turkey-themed holiday.
Hager added, "I'm gonna go in on it."
Hager, the daughter of former President George W. Bush, became a full-time co-anchor on Today in 2019 following the departure of Kotb's former co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford.
Hager further explained why she doesn't want to gloss over Thanksgiving.
"You know what? Fall is beautiful. Look out here, beautiful. Thanksgiving is all about being grateful. That's something you can do as a family. So I'm going in on it," she said.
Kotb brought up the world-famous Christmas tree that's brought to New York City's Rockefeller Center and is the focus of a large celebration when it's lit for the season.
"By the way, they're cutting down the Rockefeller tree and bringing it here soon," Kotb said.
"Earlier and earlier," Hager replied.
Rockefeller Center announced on Tuesday that an 82-foot, 14-ton Norway spruce from Queensbury, New York, had been selected as the official Christmas tree this year. It will be cut down in the coming days and driven 200 miles south to New York City, where it will be dressed with more than 50,000 energy-efficient LED lights and a three-dimensional Swarovski star on top.
The tree will then be lit during a November 30 live broadcast on NBC and remain on display until mid-January.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is a News Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more