Queen of Christmas Mariah Carey wraps up Thanksgiving Day Parade with a holiday bow

Morgan Hines, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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Mariah Carey wrapped up the 96th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade by opening for Santa Claus.
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All hail Queen Mariah, at the peak of her holiday reign.

Mariah Carey performed at the 96th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday. She wrapped up the iconic New York City parade like a present, opening for Santa Claus before he was introduced in front of Macy's flagship store in Herald Square.

Holding a parasol and clad in an off-the-shoulder, mermaid style red gown and a dazzling tiara, Carey sang her iconic Christmas song "All I Want for Christmas is You" surrounded by an impressive lineup of dancers and accompanied by her children, twins Monroe and Moroccan.

On Thanksgiving day, her 1994 hit was in the U.S. top 25 songs on Apple Music's "Top 100 USA" and No. 12 on Spotify's "Top 50 USA" list.

Fans took to Twitter, sharing their satisfaction with her Thanksgiving day show.

"Omg she looks soooooo gorgeous (& festive!) at the Macys Thanksgiving Day parade #MariahSZN," wrote Joan De Jesús.

Victor Villegas added that "it’s been 27 years, but I still get chills and teary eyed when I hear 'All I Want For Christmas' by @MariahCarey," sharing an image of Carey's performance on his television.

The singer, 52, announced on Instagram last week she would perform at this year's parade.

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A post shared by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey)

"My childhood dream is coming to life! I’m going to be opening for the one and only, SANTA CLAUS, at this year’s @macys Thanksgiving day parade!" she wrote.

Carey's fans have colloquially referred to her as the queen of Christmas due to the annual resurgence in popularity of her 1994 holiday hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You" but her attempts to trademark the title, among others, have been denied.

Earlier this month, Carey released a children's book fit for the season called "The Christmas Princess" (Henry Holt and Co., 48 pp), tracing her intense love for the holiday season back to her own childhood.

"Even if I received a Christmas gift that was a piece of fruit literally wrapped up in newspaper, I just had the spirit of that magical time," she told USA TODAY earlier this month.

Contributing: Charles Trepany, Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mariah Carey opens for Santa at Thanksgiving parade: Watch