from nbc news, this is "today", with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb. live, from studio 1a in rockeller plaza. >> our show! oh, my gosh, it's boozeday tuesday, and look what's going on over there. it's criminal. >> it's criminal. >> those two little minute people, the tiniest women in the world are drinking water on boozeday tuesday.

>> we know. >> susan lucci is here. >> and this is the melodors. >> today is the official first day of winter. first day of winter. that means tonight is the shortest, right? and we go back to longer days tomorrow. >> yes. but we have something to celebrate today, don't we? >> yes, and we'll have something more to celebrate. a huge thank you to all of you who helped raise all of $1 million for the salvation army. we only need to sell around 400 books to make it. good gifts book.org. there's about 2300 of them left. i'm never going to do more of

you love the book. it's got more pages and a memorial to frank. and it's helped so many people. let's get to the million dollar mark! >> we have good news if you are a procrastinator. doors are open 24 hours, because some people work different shifts and stuff like that. so kohl's is now open 24 hours a day until 6:00 on the 24th. walmart in a lot of locations, 24 hours. jc penney and macy's are staying open until midnight. a lot of people work crazy shifts and you can't make it. >> that's true, but hoda, how many days do you have to get ready for christmas? >> 364, about. >> yes. >> okay. >> so why are you waiting till the end? >> i know. it's the rush. part of the reason i got in the tv news i think in the beginning was because there's a deadline, and it has to happen.

10:00, i have to have my story, >> boom, boom, boom. >> and that's what it is. i'm not totally panicked yet. >> frank used to say he was always on lombardi time. he had to be ten minutes early or lombardi said you're late. i think it's the rudest thing in the world when you think your time is more valuable than somebody else. look at those two divas over there. >> how little, i can't believe susan is smaller than -- >> i'm taller. >> we have big girl shoes on. >> all right, ladies, cook something. >> shall we talk about some big boys? >> oh, my goodness, we have more breaking news on our show. men's health is out. and we do agree that john kra senski's hot. in' lookin'.

>> check it out! >> yosef, our floor director -- >> why can't i find the page? >> is on -- come over here. >> we're so proud of you, honey. you lost 50 pounds. >> i did. >> how did you do it? >> the boring way, actually. >> the boring way? we didn't actually know. >> he had a crisis moment. >> here's thing about yosef. we didn't notice until one day there was a picture of him in hawaii. >> there's your before picture. >> yes. yes. >> and look at the, uh-huh. but the body before. >> was there an ah-ha moment for you? when you thought i'm going to lose some weight? >> there's the before. >> there are a few friends of mine who inspired me. mostly i was out of breath tying my shoes. >> you're young. >> we never thought you were

we thought you were stocky. [ laughter ] >> husky, husky, husky boy. >> figured it was time. >> yeah. >> don't you think he should have a cute girlfriend? >> we think yosef and zack should, and kyle michael miller should. >> let's do a dating thing. >> let's start with the "men's health". >> what's your twitter handle? >> it's my name at. >> y-o -- >> people are going to do a j. >> it's happening again. >> there you go. >> and i'm running my first half marathon in honor of my mom who's battling, raising funds for em mls. >> we thought you were hot before.

>> yeah, baby. >> thanks. >> so meredith vieira. mom. >> so meredith has some fun particular. but she showed photos to a bunch of kids and asked the kids, is this person naughty or nice, mother's ha happened. >> i'm going to lift up pictures, and you tell me naughty or nice list. >> nice. naughty. >> naughty? >> naughty. >> do you know who that is? >> no. >> why are you saying naughty? >> she just looks like it. >> how about this person, naughty or nice? >> nice. >> nice. >> oh, that's hillary clinton. do you know who that is? >> yes. >> who is that? >> president. >> well, running for president. >> i don't know. >> naughty, naughty, naughty. >> why? >> he's weird.

>> i used to work with this guy. >> oh, my god. >> oh, my goodness. >> i know, that's exactly what i felt like. >> i'm sorry. >> thank you. it took a lot of therapy. [ laughter ] >> it's not fair, because it's not his best look during november. oh, gosh. >> you know, they love each other, but how funny was that? >> creepy. >> i'm so glad when it's not me that they're picking on or you. >> it looks like gwen stefani and blake shelton are going strong. they tweeted out a video and a message that we just can't get enough of. all right. that's enough. i want to see the ladies' reaction to it. ladies? >> i thought it was sweet. >> blake shelton. >> isn't he fabulous? >> fabulous. >> right?

>> hunky. tall. >> what about her? >> oh, gorgeous, and also really supportive of the young talent on that show. i think she's great. >> it's cute. >> how sweet is she? she's not what you've heard. susan lucci. [ laughter ] she ain't erica cane. >> by the way, we want to point out, as the show's progressing, what's going on with yosef. his phone is blowing up. bring your phone here. bring your phone here. >> exciting. >> wait, wait, wait. >> oh, my. hold on. >> how did they get your phone number? >> he's on twitter. oh, it's sensitive. >> been there with you, hoda. >> where's it coming? oh, wow, instagram. are there naughty pictures? >> let's -- >> i'm not going to. oh, oh, ooh, that's a good one. >> oh. >> wow. >> i can't wait to see what

it's going to be a happy holiday for yosef! >> awesome. >> we want updates. >> so sarah palin is taking jokes many times on snl. now she can dish it out. it looks like there's a battle palin. this one's called "31 rock." take a look. >> when 31 rock begins this melon. big city. but she's struggling to have it all. the page? >> melon. here's what you do. >> "star wars" didn't actually change cinema. out.

>> that was done by a group called the independent journal review. >> okay. >> how about john mccain playing? that was funny, right? >> and then lindsey graham on the day that he announced that he -- now he's a page. i like him. he's feisty. >> here's some trends that you may have skipped here are some that didn't actually catch on. some were the apple watch and man buns. they asked readers which trends they chose to skip this year. and we're going to ring the bell every time we passed on a tren, all right? pass! face contouring. pass. >> not me. >> it it hover boards.

>> snapchat, passed it. >> "game of thrones" ." unbreakable, kimmy schmitt. >> a squad like taylor swift! >> we have a squad. >> and finally, "watch me whip" watch me nae nae. >> i'm using my time more wisely than anybody else out there. [ laughter ] >> all right, so "fuller house", you know it's a reboot of "full house." we played that the other day. but this is what the girls from the cast looked like back in 1993. that's candace kam cameron bure. and jodi sweeten.

now watch me whip, whip watch me nae nae watch me, watch me ooh, watch me, ooh, watch me >> they got the moves. >> what does nae nae mean? >> nothing. >> whip, whip, watch me nae nae. >> means nothing. boozeday tuesday. we've got sparklers here. >> apple cider, cranberry juice, maple syrup and cinnamon. did you make those, giada for us? >> yes. >> go to our facebook page, step by step instructional video on how to make these that giada didn't make. >> susan lucci is here. she brings joy to the screen.

brings joy to your kitchen.

for 41 years, the emmy award winning actress and legend, susan lucci has played erica cane on "all my children." >> you can take the daytime

of the woman. she's playing a soap opera star in the upcoming movie "joy." >> mother, again? sit right there. are you comfortable? how many times do i have to tell you not to clean the floor -- >> erica things it's unlady like to toss things into the toilet, and i happen to agree. >> can direct her power anywhere. that is the power of -- [ laughter ] >> fun. how are you? >> hello, sweetie. >> congratulations, movie star. >> thank you. i am so thrilled to have been part of this movie, to work with david o. russell, an amazing director. i have a small part, but they're telling the story of joy mangano mangano, her life story, and her mother played her.

timid woman, and she had trouble doling with reality, and he took refuge in her bedroom and was addicted to soaps. >> a champion ommon addiction. >> and particularly to danica. because danica was strong and became a role model for her. and she would quote danica. >> and live vicariously through her. >> david o. russell was saying that soap opera actors are like olympic athletes. could do. >> and so generous with his comments. i'm really honored by that. >> you learn pages and pages and pages every day. >> mm-hm. there was a lot of volume, certainly, every day. and erica cane was a very busy character. i'm so glad i got to play her. >> it kept you off the streets. daylight hours. you know all that.

and david has said what i read if one of the interviews. he would come in and tell us what we want to do and we just do it. >> not saying what's my motivation. >> we come in with a motivation. we know what we're supposed to be doing, just because of the nature. just like old man river, keeps rolling along. no matter how long we were there at the studio the night before. >> didn't you love playing with the characters? >> oh, love. i got to work with jennifer who is brilliant and robert de niro. >> are you pinching yourself? >> oh, my god, i'm pirpgs myself. virginia matsen, isabella rosle knee. >> what about bradley cooper?

bradley. bradley. i've been admiring bradley. instagram? >> my daughter has whipped me into a frenzy. mom, you have to post every day. >> wait, what's happening here? >> oh, it's just your every day. >> just a bubble bath. >> how i spend the weekend. have you been to that new hotel? >> the one in vegas? >> no. i've not been to that one, right 54th? i'm sorry. i don't know where you are, but we had a great time. it is gorgeous. the day. so beautiful. >> so are you. and we love you. >> thank you. >> and merry christmas. them. >> and it opens when? >> christmas day. >> at a theater near you. >> you. >> got wrapping paper, can't find your ribbon? >> no problemo.

house right now. t now. when it's your job to protect the world's greatest nation, it's your responsibility to solve the world's greatest challenges. this is why we search for the best and brightest. why we train for every eventuality on land and water, in the air, space and even cyberspace. we operate in a complex world with one simple mission.

it's time for brain teaser tuesday when we put your minds to work with a fun riddle. >> johnny's mother had three children. the first child was named april, the second may. what was the third child's name. >> that seems too obvious. >> don't say it. >> think about it. google it. we'll be back in a minute. >> you know where we're going. to wrap presents. >> if you're hosting for the holidays and need to feed the family and friends, giada's ready with a recipe.

it's boozeday tuesday. and before the break we gave you the riddle, johnny's mother had three children. the first child was named april, the second child's name was named may, the third child's name was what?

>> have you been wrapping and you find out you're out of bags, out of bows and gift wrap? >> help is here thanks to robin spiceman. >> robin is a lifestyle expert who has appeared for three decades now. she has ideas for creative, homemade wrapping. >> it's robin to the rescue. you don't need anything fancy to make it look fabulous. we're going to repurpose recyclables with pizzazz. i thought about the person who is a wordsmith or likes crossword puzzles. that would be my sister in law cheryl. she's a crossword addict. so we wrapped up her gift with crossword puzzles. take a look at the bottle cap in the middle. >> that's right off high milk carton, but kathie lee, of course. >> have you seen this tv host. >> yeah. you are so clever.

but the idea that you can take strips of magazines, and i make a figure eight. if it's hard i'm not doing it. you make a figure eight and staple it in the middle and layer the figure eights, and before you know it, you've got a bow. >> it's a bow to go. >> it's smart to do with coloring paper. >> sports section for the sports lover, anything. now egg cartons. i've been eating a lot of eggs, but this is for grade a eggs friends. all i did was cover them with hershey kisses and filled it with candy. it's a lot of fun. but the kids are getting involved now. and they're telling you how you're going to wrap and take out your scraps. this year, get out the scraps before someone throws them out. >> exactly. >> then you can see how pretty it looks.

i put a beautiful piece of jewelry in here, and here we are. and i'm going to take tissue, and i'm going to wrap it up in style with the tissue paper. one, two, three, four, five. it's like three seconds and tie the edges like i did. tie with some bows, and d's simple. little scraps and enthis and then you got it. and you can use a dishtowel. and what are we going to put in there, you can put in a tee shirt, sweets, cash. cash goes well. >> cash! >> who doesn't like cash? >> now sock it to me. i love it. straight out of the sock drawer. i'm going to open up the sock. put in the bottle. and look, one, two, three, and you've got it. what i love to do is add a few little bows around the top, one, two, three.

do with one sock? >> well, you're going to reuse it. give the wine that you love so much. i know you have your favorite wines. >> yes, i do. >> the other sock had a hole in it. and you got rid of it. you only had one sock left. >> all right. all right. >> we're thinking here. now marshmallows, dip them in the colors, make polka dots. >> is this paint? >> yes. this is non-toxic paint. >> hold it down, hoda. >> you can see the finished product. the kids love it, and they are going to have a blast. >>na is fun. >> make sure you don't eat it. >> you eat one and stamp one. >> be careful. >> look how much fun that is. >> i alternated colors. >> you took a little more care. >> this is my favorite wrap of op time. i want you to try this. now watch me. all i'm going to do is take the

them up to the stop. now, do you notice we have four little corners? take a rubber band. kathie lee, you are a pro at this. >> oh, he is. >> put it around the top. watch robin. very simple way to do it. around the neck of the bottle. and look at that. we have four separate pockets. hoda you are right on it. i am going to put pretzels, treats, and this is a bandana wrap, one, two, three. and they can repurpose the wrap. >> look down there. >> really good. thanks, robin. >> one, two, three, we wrap it up. >> say hello to everybody for us. >> and if you are a "pitch perfect" fan, we have a group for you.

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all right, if you're expecting a houseful over the weekend and you don't want to spend the night and the day in the kitchen, we have a recipe for you. >> we have giada. >> it keeps on giving for sure. >> what is it? >> kabocha squash. a lot of people in the kitchen called did a kabucha. it's getting confused. but before we get there, you're

what kind of beef do you use for a stew? >> like a tenderloin. >> oh, no. it's too expensive. >> i like tenderloin! >> i use the other kind, the cheaper kind, that's what i use. >> the butt? what part? >> this is hoda's butt right here. we've cut it up. >> really, what's it called? >> chuck. chuck. but not ground chuck. >> you can use ground meat if you wanted to. then you want to cut the squash a little smaller. i would do the tri tip if you wanted. a flank steak if you want. any inexpensive cut of meat. it's going to cook low and slow for a long period of time. so everything's going to melt and be very tender. moving on. from hoda's butt. >> from hoda's butt. >> you season it with a little

creates a thickness to the stew. and she's going to dump it in the oil. >> dump it, hoda! >> and we're going to brown it for a couple minutes. >> you don't cook it all the way through. >> you don't cook it all the way through, because the slow cooker's going to do it for you. >> you're going to put it in the slow cooker! >> yeah, this is something you can do and leave. here's the squash. you can use butter nut, acorn, anything. what we're going to do. you peel it, but you need a really good, sharp peeler, guys, if not, you can take a knife and just -- >> chop it off. >> you want to make sure it sits up nicely. >> why? >> because you don't want it to roll around and cut your finger. >> cut that baby down. >> you cut this baby down, which

force, and you can buy this already done by the way. they cube it up and make life easy. then you move over here. >> what do we do? >> i forgot that, the garlic, the thyme and rosemary. and you let that cook and it looks like this. >> okay. >> thank you! >> you're welcome. >> i got distracted with this. then you want to move the meat over so you can deglaze the bottom of the hand. a key -- >> what do you mean deglaze? >> see all that brown stuff? you want to brown the meat first before you add it in here, otherwise you don't get that little flavor, and you take marsala wine, which i like, or you can use red wine or beef stock. and you scrape it and clean your pan. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. >> and then you take all of these ingredient. >> and they go in the crock -- in the slow cooker? >> careful.

rest of the day? >> no, i don't. nice! >> get all the bits in there. >> o i'm getting as many as i can. >> and then we're going to dump the beef broth on top of that. >> dump it, hoda! >> and what about the tomatoes? >> and the sun-dried tomatoes. i love sun-dried tomatoes. and we have the squash. these are great. people love using a slow cooker. >> and look at this! >> ooh. >> i think this is a lyle nice really nice meal. and it's nice and hot when you get home. >> i'm going to dunk a little bread in it. >> ooh, it just falls apart. >> the meat should fall apart. >> it does. >> after four hours up to eight hours, that meat should really fall apart. what do you think? >> mm. >> the only thing we're missing, guys? >> is a glass of wine.

>> you can find this delicious stew recipe, today.com/food. >> we have a terrific group of college kids.

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the citi concert series on "today", is proudly presented to you by citi. the vanderbilt melodors are not only a talented a cappella college group. >> they are champions of the sing off. the only collegiate champions they have ever had. they are singing off of "a mellow little christmas. here they are.

better ba,ba,ba, da this christmas and as we trim the tree how fun it's going to be da, da, together this christmas bright ah with carolling through the night and this christmas will be a very special christmas for me, yeah ba,ba,ba

ba, da, da,ba,ba,ba,ba da my world is filled with cheer and you this christmas and as i look around your eyes are shining as they do oh, this christmas fireside is blazing bright with carolling now and this christmas will be a very special christmas for me whoa, whoa ba,ba,ba,ba, da, da, da, da, ba,ba,ba,ba,ba, da, da, da, ooh, ooh, ooh

you know it's going to be now this christmas ba,ba,ba, a very special christmas ba,ba,ba, this christmas this christmas whoa and this christmas will be a very special christmas for me yeah, yeah, yeah ba,ba,ba,ba, da, da, da, take a hand now ba,ba,ba,ba, da, da,ba, merry christmas, baby whoa, whoa, whoa we'll be together to make this christmas bright >> all right! >> that was so fun! >> that was awesome! great. >> a teen sensation spreads the joy to needy children.

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it's our final donation for the toy drive, and it's from our friends from the folks who make hello kitty! >> and here to tell us about it are maddie and mckinzie. >> before we get to how fabulous you are, what are you giving away from hello kitty? >> they raised $130,000 in toys and merchandise, and we're just

these are like so cute and -- >> everybody loves them. >> so cute. we love hello kitty. >> you guys have major things going on in your career. >> mckinzie's a big singer, tell us about that. >> well, i just released my single "sleigh ride", a christmas song. >> number one album on itunes last year, right? >> yes. >> and i wrapped my first role in a movie for "the book of henry." and it was so exciting. >> who are these people in. >> i don't know, but they're raised by very fine parents. >> congratulations. merry christmas. >> thank you, merry christmas. >> wow. we'd like to thank everybody for the more than $37.5 million no in donations, helping 3 million families. our second biggest year in the