On the heels of other celebrity promotions in 2021 that linked their menu with pop stars like rappers Travis Scott and Saweetie, Latin music star J Balvin, and Korean superstar boy band BTS, McDonald’s will spend December handing out free food in association with the singer who has positioned herself as the queen of the Christmas season: Mariah Carey.
“Some of my favorite memories with my kids are our family trips to McDonald’s, and of course, each of us has our go-to order,” Carey said in a statement. “Bringing together some of our favorite food from McDonald’s with my all-time favorite season is a holiday wish come true.”
The “Mariah Menu” will offer up a different free McDonald’s menu item every day for the 12 days leading up to Christmas Day, with the promotion starting Monday, December 13, and wrapping up on Christmas Eve.
Customers will have to make a minimum $1 purchase through the McDonald’s mobile app to access the free food.
Here’s the rundown of the free items available each day:
· Dec. 13: Big Mac
· Dec. 14: McChicken
· Dec. 15: Bakery item
· Dec. 16: Six-piece Chicken McNuggets
· Dec. 17: Cheeseburger
· Dec. 18: Hotcakes
· Dec. 19: McDouble
· Dec. 20: Apple Pie
· Dec. 21: Sausage McMuffin with Egg
· Dec. 22: Double Cheeseburger
· Dec. 23: Sausage Biscuit
· Dec. 24: Chocolate Chip Cookies
In addition, the fast-food franchise is offering Mariah merch on certain days if you are “one of the first approximately 10,000 people” to redeem the daily item. On December 15, the offering will be a free beanie emblazoned with Carey’s signature, then on December 21, a T-shirt with a picture of Carey will be the early-bird prize.
Carey has become a constant presence on the pop charts during the holiday season in recent years since a pair of rule-changes allowed Christmas fare to climb Billboard's weekly rankings in December.
The institution of streaming numbers into the Hot 100’s chart formula and a chart rule-change that allows for older songs to re-enter the chart if they make the top 50 has benefitted Carey more than any other artist, thanks to the yearly reappearance of her 1994 holiday hit “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
Oddly enough, chart rules at the time of its release barred its inclusion on the chart. But since the rule change in 2012 allowed its first chart appearance, the song has returned every December, hitting the top 10 for the first time in 2017, and becoming Carey’s 19th #1 hit of her career in 2019, good for second-place all-time (just one chart-topper behind The Beatles).
The song was also adapted by Carey into a children’s book in 2015 and an animated film in 2017, and it’s back in Billboard’s top 10 again this year, currently sitting at #3.
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