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Kathie Lee Gifford Opens Up About Handling the Holidays After Frank Gifford's Death

Host says her late husband is always with them during this time of year

By Kendall Fisher Dec 07, 2016 8:34 PMTags
Watch: Does Kathie Lee Gifford Have New Holiday Traditions?

This year will mark the second holiday season Kathie Lee Gifford and her family will celebrate without her late husband, Frank Gifford, who passed away in August 2015.

However, despite his physical absence, the Today host says she can always feel his presence, and for that reason, the family—including her two children, Cassidy Gifford Cody Gifford—has continued to celebrate just as they did when he was alive.

"We just do the same old thing and just lift up many toasts to him," she told E! News at the Bella New York Holiday Issue Cover Party Tuesday night.

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She continued, "We know he's with us. We know where he is, and we know who he's with, and we know we're going to be with him someday soon. Maybe not this weekend, but soon enough!"

As for the family's plans this year, Kathie revealed, "We always go to our place in the Keys [Islands]. Just to get relaxation. We love the Keys, it's just so relaxed."

Watch: Hoda Kotb Spills on Moving in With BF Joel Schiffman

Speaking of traditions, Hoda Kotb also got to chatting about her plans for the holidays, which will include her boyfriend Joel Schiffman

"My mom and my sister and I are going to Florida," she told E! News. "And [Joel] is going with his daughter to Colorado. But we're going to meet up in Pasadena. We're going  to do the Rose Parade and hang out."

But the couple has even more exciting things to look forward to before that: they're moving in together!

Watch
Hoda Kotb Spills on Her Ideal Proposal
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"It's starting on Thursday...We waited until after my family and everybody left after Thanksgiving so it wasn't so hectic and crazy," she dished. "So we're just getting started. I'm excited, except for I have to get neater quickly…He's a neat guy, and I'm not."

Other than his cleanliness, what qualities made Hoda realize she wanted to live with her beau?

"He's so nice. I really got a great guy," she gushed about her man. "It's really everything. It's the way he looks at life. It's his optimism. It's the way he looks at me...I like being with someone who wakes up happy, and he wakes up happy."

So sweet!