Vocal sensation Mariah Carey has revealed that she's glad the holidays are approaching because it has been a tough few years for her and her family and they need a well-deserved break. 

Speaking to Extra, the beauty confessed that her husband Nick Cannon's health scare set them back and then she suffered an injury on set that left her dealing with a painful recovery, so Christmas isn't the ideal holiday for them all:

"We've had a couple difficult seasons these past years. Nick had a health scare. We went to the hospital one Christmas, that was a tough year for us. whatever it is will make you stronger."

She added that her twin babies, Moroccan and Monroe, are now toddlers so are starting to enjoy the holidays a lot more as they can understand what's going on: "They're two-and-a-half now and so now they really get it. They saw Santa today. They're going to see him again soon."

Carey then went on to talk about how she is raising her children, admitting that she's beginning to teach them about the importance of giving back: "I know that these babies cannot grow up thinking this is normal. So what I plan on doing, what we kind of started this Thanksgiving, is for them to learn that we give back. That this is not the typical, not reality. We feed other people. You have to help others."