Mariah Carey Reveals Holiday Traditions and Doing Christmas “a Little Differently Than Most People”

Mariah Carey is not only considered one of the best-selling music artists, but in 2012 VH1 placed her second on the list of greatest women in music. Such a placement doesn’t come without many accolades like selling over 220 million albums and winning 5 Grammy Awards. While the singer is an icon in music, she is often associated with Christmas thanks to her 1994 holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas is You.” Enjoying her label as Queen of Christmas, the singer recently discussed how seriously she takes the special time of year and the traditions her family created over the years. 

With Christmas happening only one time of year, Carey makes sure they get it right. And exactly how does she do that – planning. Detailing her plans for the holidays, Carey admitted that she doesn’t reveal any plans before every piece is in place and she is ready for Christmas. “I keep that part as secret as possible until we get everything set. It’s just one of those things I do every year, where I make everybody wait to play Christmas music until I’m ready to take it in and feel like, ‘OK, now it’s time for the holidays.’”

Having two 12-year-old twins, Carey described what a regular Christmas looks like to PEOPLE. She pointed out that her family does the special time of year “a little differently than most people.” It seems that a Carey Christmas involves hot tubs, snow, and games. “We have our traditions, like rolling in the snow, jumping in the hot tubs – stuff that most people don’t do, but it’s just that we’re all kind of daredevils.”

[RELATED: How Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You” Became a Modern Holiday Classic]

Mariah Carey Loves Spending Christmas In The Mountains

While hot tubs and rolling in the snow sound like a great way to spend Christmas, Carey added that they also love playing the game Heads Up! “We also sit and play games, like Heads Up! or Taboo. For the past four years, I’ve been trying to make my traditional Christmas meals, like my dad’s recipe for linguini and clam sauce. I like to make sure Monroe and Rocky come in and cook with me.”

With her children getting older, Carey hopes they continue to share the traditions they made when they have families of their own. And one of her favorite traditions – spending the holiday in Aspen, Colorado.  

(Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)