When it comes to her first choice of who to kiss under the mistletoe, Mariah Carey doesn't have to think twice — she reaches for Jack, her supercute two-year-old Jack Russell terrier.
“Isn't he just adorable? Of course I will kiss him under the mistletoe — as long as he doesn't try and lick my face, that is.” says the singer. “Jack loves Christmas almost as much as I do. I am working on his Christmas outfits, so he'll look good.”
Jack must be the world s most famous Jack Russell — Mariah's army of devoted fans have even set up his own website. “And you know what is really cool? The fans even send him Christmas presents,” she laughs.
But when it comes to Christmas, Mariah Carey admits she's 35 going on 12. “I make the biggest deal ever out of the holiday season. Me and my friends — well, I call them my extended family — we go to Aspen every year. It s a ski resort, and while it's a little celeby and commercial, it's just this gorgeous picturesque village. Well, apart from everything in the boutiques is like, $10,000.
“We absolutely go to town. We have a tree set up, and we decorate it, with butterflies of course, and we drink hot cocoa with butterscotch schnapps and then we get on a two-horse open-sleigh ride. And I know Jack will have a good time because he loves the snow. He goes bounding off into it — this little white dog disappears, and then you see his nose poking out. He gets so excited.”
But it's not all just loafing around chez Carey at Christmas. “This year I'm going to try snowboarding. For the last six years, I've been trying to learn, but it just isn't happening. I like to sleep until 3pm when I'm on my holidays, and the ski lifts close at 4pm. So usually, I get dressed up in a festive ensemble — either a Chanel, Dior or Lagerfield ski outfit, and then I go shopping. We also go tubing, which is where you go downhill on race tracks on a plastic sled. It's great, you can go really fast — although it depends on my weight how fast I can get down that hill.
“All my friends are like, totally with the programme. We act like little kids and play nothing but Christmas music. Shawn, who is my nephew, but is more like a brother to me because I was in kindergarten when he was born, is like, ‘Mimi, it's 28 December, can we play hip hop now?’ I'm really proud of him, he's a lawyer, he's done so well.”
Mariah's done pretty well herself. From a poor and difficult background she's gone on to become the biggest-selling female artist of all time. But she's had her ups and downs — an early marriage to a man 20 years her senior, record company boss Tommy Mottola, that ended in divorce and a well-publicised nervous breakdown in 2001. But things are on the up. She's made an incredible comeback — her album The Emancipation Of Mimi is a smash hit and she picked up four gongs at the Vibe Awards.
“Well, I give thanks every year, whether it's an incredible year like this one, or a really bad one. I've had a great year this year, no mistake, but I never forget the real meaning of Christmas, which is the birth of Jesus Christ. First and foremost it's about celebrating that incredible gift.”
Mariah and her friends will also be going to church. “We go to the midnight candlelight church service and we read from the Bible, usually something from Luke or Matthew.”
The festive season also gives Mariah, who is single, the opportunity to try out her skills in the kitchen. “I never get the chance to cook, so my friends are like, ‘Mimi's in the kitchen, it must be Christmas.’ I do this white clam linguine, which was my father's recipe — so it's my favourite thing. I also do a nice tomato sauce, and sometimes we make gingerbread men.”
Mariah is famous for her super-glam, revealing sparkly outfits — but on Christmas Day she makes an exception. “Well, sure, let's face it — I don't own that many clothes that cover me up, so once a year I can really go for it!” she laughs. “Usually, I try to do a Christmas Eve number in red, maybe cashmere. And on Christmas morning, I wear my Frosty the Snowman nightie and thermal long johns — I've got to look good for when Santa Claus pays a visit,” she laughs.
“And I love getting gifts for people. When I was growing up, we didn't have much money, but my mom always tried to make it special by wrapping up little things. If friends bring kids, or my nephew and niece come, I make sure there is plenty of stuff for them to unwrap.
“We all love expensive gifts — I'm not going to say I don't want tons of diamonds, but it really is the thought that goes into it. The other day. I had a cold, so my brother sent me a pyramid of balloons — just to make me laugh. And last week, my friends threw me a Hello Kitty party. I had a real four-year-old moment. So in Aspen this Christmas, it's going to be 12-year-old girl stuff, but it's going to make me so happy.”
