‘Twas the first day of Christmas and who should appear but Mariah Carey gracing the cover of Elle’s December issue!

In the story, the Queen of Christmas opened up about her upcoming holiday special, Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special, which premieres Friday (Dec. 4) on Apple TV+. “I hope people feel festive when they watch this special, and I hope it helps in some way,” she said of releasing the television event in 2020.

“Just like any really good Christmas movie or song can lift your spirits, that was the goal here,” she dished about the upcoming moment of festivity. “I came to it with the spirit of ‘Let’s make it festive no matter what.’ If you go into anything with that kind of hopefulness, then it’ll happen.”

Lambs also received an exciting tidbit of news, as Carey says “she’s in talks about an onscreen version” of her best-selling memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey, the mag reports.

Carey then spoke of the annual resurgence of her 19th No. 1 hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” which first topped the chart last year, 25 years after its initial release, and made an early comeback on social media this November following Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

“It felt great to be a part of those celebratory moments — and it totally took me by surprise,” she said, after seeing fans dance in the streets to the song to celebrate Biden’s big win. “It’s been such a hard year, and I really feel like people so need a celebratory moment. At every turn, it’s like, ‘We can’t be [together]; you can’t celebrate. This is canceled; that’s canceled.’”

During the cover shoot, the icon also played a special holiday-themed edition of Elle’s popular Song Association game, singing a cappella versions of everything from “Winter Wonderland” and “Joy to the World” to her own deep cut “You’re So Cold” (from 1991’s Emotions) and, of course, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”

While Carey’s Christmas classic is currently spending its 41st week at No. 1 on the seasonal Holiday 100 chart, it’s also climbing up the Hot 100 once again, landing at No. 14 on the chart dated Dec. 5. Following her Apple TV+ special, the singer-songwriter is next set to release a reworked girl group version of her 2010 holiday hit “Oh Santa!” featuring Ariana Grande and Jennifer Hudson.

Check out Mariah’s festive Elle cover, and watch her Christmas-themed Song Association, below.