Hoda Kotb's final 'Today' show: 5 memorable moments

Hoda Kotb officially said goodbye to the "Today" show Friday in an emotional episode filled with memorable moments. Here are five of the best:

— Kotb was joined by daughters Haley, 8, and Hope, 5, for part of the broadcast.

— Her tears flowed as colleagues Jenna Bush Hager, Savannah Guthrie, Carson Daly, Al Roker and Craig Melvin heaped praise on her throughout the broadcast. In return, she said tearfully. "Can I just say thank you?"   "I haven’t been able to articulate it, because I’m a mess most times, but I just want to say thanks."

— Oprah Winfrey was among the celebrities who congratulated Kotb in recorded messages. "I know how challenging it is to come to the moment where you say, ‘I have done it, I have done it, and now it’s time to move on to the next thing,’" Winfrey said. “ ... In the future, you’re going to look back and you’re going to say, ‘Was that the right decision? Did I do the right thing?’ And I will assure you that, yes, you have made the right move."

— Jamie Lee Curtis, who couldn’t attend in person because of the Los Angeles fires, gave Kotb a large orb engraved with the quote, "Every today with you is a better day."

— Kotb’s former fourth hour co-host, Kathie Lee Gifford, sent in a video message to show her love, then surprised Kotb by showing up in person. "I love you so much that I was thinking to myself, ‘I sure hope Kathie comes,'" Kotb said.

Kotb announced in September that she would be leaving the show, where she had been a regular since 2007.