Mariah Carey vowed to make sure "every Christmas is great" for her children, after growing up in a "very dysfunctional family" herself.
Mariah Carey for Cosmopolitan
The 'All I Want For Christmas Is You' hitmaker says she never got to experience a "really good" Christmas as a child because of struggles within her family, so has made it her mission to ensure her eight-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe - whom she has with her ex-husband Nick Cannon - have a "magical" time over the festive period.
Asked what her Christmas was like growing up, she said: "Growing up I had a very dysfunctional family. I always wanted to have a really good time at Christmas and they would ruin it, so I vowed in my own life I would make sure every Christmas was great. I want to make it magical for my kids. You know, I think it's this kind of childlike love of Christmas that saved me. I go through so much all year long just to have a great Christmas."
The holiday season for the 49-year-old singer now involves travelling to Aspen, Colorado, where she pulls out all the stops to create a "great experience", including hiring real reindeer to take her family on a sleigh ride.
She added: "I think everybody should spend Christmas with me because it's a great experience.
"When I get off the plane, our drivers have 'All I Want For Christmas...' playing, we have hot cocoa and some butterscotch schnapps. Then we'll go through the woods on a two-horse open sleigh with blankets and real reindeer. It's freezing cold but it's beautiful and you're looking at the stars. It's an incredible moment I love every year."
And whilst Mariah loves getting gifts on Christmas day - which falls on December 25 every year - all she really needs is the "love" of her children.
Speaking about her Christmas morning routine to the December issue of Cosmopolitan magazine - which is out now - she said: "Everybody waits for me to get it together. I put on something I feel is Christmassy, some kind of fun little pyjamas or a onesie, something cute, and have some eggnog while we're opening the presents. Sometimes I'll open my presents at night because I want to take care of everybody else first. All the kids care about is their iPads at the moment - they just want different apps and games. I told them this year if we're going to do that then I don't need to buy all these other presents you don't really care about, so we're going to figure out how Santa deals with that. For me, just the kids' love is all I really need. They make me things and I save everything. But that doesn't mean I don't want things bought from the shop. I love that, too."
Tagged in Mariah Carey