It's not Christmas until Mariah Carey [1] says so. As soon as the clock struck midnight on 1 Nov. and not a minute later, the pop star ushered in the festive season with an over-the-top video, as she does every year.
Her latest festive announcement is quite the masterpiece — we truly have no notes. It opens with Carey encased in a giant ice block as several people wearing Halloween costumes [2] use blow dryers to defrost her. She ultimately breaks free with the power of her high-pitched whistle tone, belting out, "It's time!" to signal the start of Christmas. To the surprise of no one, Carey's ubiquitous smash hit "All I Want For Christmas Is You" [3] plays next while she dances in a Santa Claus outfit alongside her 12-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan [4].
Such videos have become an annual tradition for Carey. Last year, she took a similarly creative approach: after riding a stationary bike in a latex witch costume, she sang her signature phrase — "It's time!" — and was suddenly transported to a winter wonderland filled with snow. In 2021, she used a giant candy cane to smash a pumpkin, and two years prior, she got a phone call from Santa himself on 1 Nov. at midnight on the dot.
Carey's Christmas countdown announcements date back as far as 2019, and they've got delightfully more extra over time. At first, they were charming at-home videos likely filmed on an iPhone, but now, they're professional studio-grade productions with special effects and hired actors. At this point, she probably has a whole team dedicated to ideating, filming, and editing the videos. Would you expect anything less from the Queen of Christmas [5]?
Watch Carey's hilarious Christmas countdown video for this year below, and keep reading to relive ones from years past to see how much they've evolved.