Inside Ryan Seacrest’s 50th Birthday Celebration With His Family Ahead of Major Career Milestone

Ryan Seacrest spent his 50th birthday with the people he loves the most — his family! The Wheel of Fortune host shared snapshots from the celebration and received birthday wishes from fans on Tuesday, December 24.

“Celebrated my Christmas Eve birthday with family, fondue, and a piñata from Flora! The festivities continued with Christmas turkey. Merry Christmas!” Ryan captioned the carousel of photos from his birthday festivities on Instagram.

In the first picture, he held his niece, Flora, on his shoulders as they stood next to a piñata with his parents, Connie and Gary Seacrest, and his sister, Meredith Seacrest, and brother-in-law Jimmy Leach.

In another photo, Flora wore Christmas pajamas and sat on Ryan’s lap. They exchanged smiles in the photos. Later on, the family posed in front of Ryan’s birthday cake. A candle with the number 50 on it was placed in the center of the cake.

The family also posed for photos at the dinner table next to the Christmas tree. An array of yummy dishes was spread out along the table as the family smiled while wearing their festive red and green outfits.

In the comments section, the American Idol host’s fans sent him sweet messages to celebrate his birthday.

“Happy birthday Ryan and Merry Christmas to you and the entire Seacrest family ! All the best wishes,” one fan said.

“Happy Birthday & Merry Christmas Ryan! Can’t wait to bring in the New Year w/ you watchin Rockin New Year’s Eve,” another fan said, referencing the fact that Ryan will be once again hosting Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest on New Year’s Eve.

The lineup for this year’s festivities in Manhattan’s Times Square is full of music superstars. Ryan is set to have an American Idol reunion with season 4 winner Carrie Underwood, who is set to perform on the iconic stage. Carrie “will perform a medley of some of her biggest hits in Times Square just before midnight,” per an ABC press release. She is celebrating 20 years since her American Idol win.

The broadcast will also include performances by Megan Moroney, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Lenny Kravitz, Teddy Swims, Tinashe, Cody Johnson and Thomas Rhett. Just after midnight, the Jonas Brothers will be taking the stage in Times Square.

“In honor of an incredible two decades in music and entertainment, global pop culture icons the Jonas Brothers will take the Times Square stage in New York for a special performance after the clock strikes midnight,” according to a press release.

This New Year’s Eve broadcast will be particularly special for Ryan, as it will mark 20 years since his first countdown on the show. On December 13, the Rockin Eve Instagram account posted about the milestone, writing, “20 years of iconic countdowns with @ryanseacrest! Join us as we celebrate his two-decade legacy on #RockinEve! Don’t miss the party → New Year’s Eve at 8/7c on @abc!”

Fans praised Ryan for the milestone in the comments section, and are looking forward to seeing him ring in 2025 with another broadcast very soon.

One person wrote, “20 years this is fantastic, hope to see you do another 30 years! Now dim the lights!”

Another penned, “Wow 20 years!! Here’s to another 20 or more! It’s not New Year’s Eve without you Ryan!”