Celebrity News December 16, 2021
Mariah Carey Shares Her Christmas Traditions with Her Kids and Talks McDonald’s Collab
The “Queen of Christmas” Mariah Carey is feeling festive ahead of the holiday!
“Extra’s” Terri Seymour chatted with Mariah about favorite family traditions, her AppleTV+ special, and her new Mariah Menu collab with McDonald’s.
She said of being called the “Queen of Christmas,” “If I knew as a little girl that one day someone would call me that, that would be pretty amazing. But I think it’s disrespectful to be like, that’s what I am, that’s who I am.”
She continued, “I love the holidays more than any time, even though a lot of times we dress the place up, it’s not the same as the actual holidays. Even when I’ve spent Christmas in places where it’s not snowy, it’s not the same for me. I am a traditional lover of the holidays, I truly am.”
Telling Terri all about her favorite Christmas family tradition, she said, “I go on a sleigh ride the night before... me and the family.”
She loves spending time in Aspen too, saying, “When we’re in Aspen, it’s a whole other experience. You’re dealing with the snow... I look out the window and I’m like, this is amazing. You go in the hot tub and it’s freezing outside... but it’s kind of incredible and there’s so much fun stuff to do in winter wonderland. I love that at Christmas.”
She added, “But I gotta say, if I could just be like, that’s what I do and then I go to the tropics for the rest of the year, that’s what we’re doing.”
And she’s helping with the holiday cooking, saying, “I do cook on the 24th. Yeah, child, I do! I do my dad’s recipe that he left for me before he passed away... And then on Christmas, we have a traditional dinner. I’m not gonna lie, people help, but I’m really good with the mashed potatoes.”
Back with another AppleTV+ special, she said, “‘The Magic Continues,’ that’s the name of the special. Joseph Kahn directed this special I am so excited about, then it’s sort of like a segue into last year’s special which I loved and was so thankful for all the guests. But there’s a brand-new single I have out called ‘Fall in Love at Christmas’ featuring Khalid... and Kirk Franklin, gospel king.”
Saying her twins like her songs, she said, “They do know some of them... My son has a couple favorites... My son volunteers… He asks for ‘Silent Night’ from last year’s Apple special... Then he likes a song I wrote and performed in the Apple special, ‘Christmas Time Is in the Air,’ which I wrote with the incredible Mark Shaman… He likes that song, and then he’s like, I’m not even counting ‘All I want for Christmas,’ obviously I like that one. But those are the two he selected.”
She also has a holiday menu at McDonald’s! “The Mariah Menu is my new collab with McDonald’s... This is an entire menu... Starts from December 13 and goes through the 24th, Christmas Eve, so even Santa can go to the drive-thru and pick it up on his way on his sleigh.”
Mariah hits the drive-thru too, but she’s not driving: “I don’t drive... It’s better for the world and also I let my license expire a long time ago when I left this place. I used to live in upstate New York... in NYC I don’t want to drive. I definitely don’t want to drive, no, it’s too much.”
Her kids are happy about the Mariah Menu too. “They are super excited about the Mariah Menu,” she said. “First of all, I’m lucky if I can get my son to eat anything but a chicken nugget. My daughter has a sophisticated palate... but she also loves McDonald’s as well.”