Carson Daly Didn't Want a Big 50th Birthday Party: 'I Really Tried to Hide' (Exclusive)

The host of 'The Voice' wanted to keep things low-key for his big day

Put the confetti cannons away — Carson Daly isn't that kind of birthday boy.

For his 50th birthday on June 22, theToday show host specifically requested that there be no grand celebration, and now he's exclusively telling PEOPLE about his laid-back approach to hitting a life milestone.

Instead of a big blowout party, Daly says he “tried to go the other way. I really tried to hide, claim that I was busy.”

And Daly is indeed a busy man — splitting time between Today, The Voice and Barmageddon, he simply wanted a bit of calm on his big day. “​​I just spend so much time traveling and in airports and airplanes and shooting television and large productions,” he explains. “When it came time for my 50th, I really just wanted to spend it with my wife and my four kids.”

Related: Carson Daly's Three Daughters Bring Out His Cake for 50th Birthday Celebration on 'Today': 'Love My Family'

Daly kick the day off right, with an on-air celebration in which his wife Siri, 42, came out to demonstrate the Daly family’s recipe for skirt steak with chimichurri. Siri sported a shirt emblazoned with “1973,” the year of Daly’s birth. 

Later in the segment, Daly’s three daughters rolled out a cake. While Etta, 10, and London, 8, stood behind the cake, Daly held Goldie, 3, in his arms while she licked up an ice cream cone. Of course, Daly’s wife, daughters and the show’s anchors joined together to sing “Happy Birthday.”

Missing from the segment was Daly’s 14-year-old son Jackson. But there was no drama, he tells PEOPLE. “I woke him up at 5 [a.m.] and said, ‘You want to go to the Today show?’ He's like, ‘Can I just keep sleeping?’” explains the former TRL VJ. “I was like, ‘Of course.’”

Related: Carson Daly Throwback Photos from the TRL Days

That evening, Daly hosted a simple barbecue with some neighborhood friends.

“I was in flip flops, and we were listening to music and grilling,” Daly shares. “It was all the things that I love the most, so it ended up being perfect.”

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