How the royal family celebrate Christmas
While their celebrations may be a tad more extravagant, the royal family celebrate Christmas quite similarly to the rest of us.
The family send Christmas cards, exchange gifts and even play a friendly game of soccer in the afternoon before enjoying the Christmas feast.
The Queen loves to decorate with a real Christmas tree and has already had a 20ft Nordman Fir Tree which sits at St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle. The tree is sourced from the Queen’s back garden in Windsor Great Park and then delivered to the castle.
Staff at the Berkshire castle have been busy preparing the home for festivities and this year, the decorations have been arranged to suit a gold theme. Since the 19th century, the Christmas decorations have been an annual attraction at the castle.
However, the Queen is known to take special pride in her decorations at Buckingham Palace with insiders saying the Queen is rumoured to do the final touches with the help of younger members of the family.
Here is a glimpse into how the royals celebrate Christmas.
1. They send out Christmas cards
Every year, the Queen and Prince Philip send out roughly 850 Christmas cards to their closest family and friends. Each of them are required to sign each card but luckily, they don’t need to worry about licking the envelopes. Charles and Camilla and William and Kate also send out plenty of cards.
2. They give gifts
While you might expect the royals to give expensive gifts on Christmas, they normally give silly or sentimental gifts instead. In 2015, the Duchess of Cambridge reportedly gave Harry a plastic ‘Grow your own girlfriend kit’ – which seems to have done the trick. The family exchange presents on Christmas Eve at tea time which is a tradition passed down from Prince Albert.
The Queen used to do all her own Christmas shopping for friends and family at Harrods, which used to open up exclusively after hours. Now, she does all her shopping online. All of her staff receive puddings and reportedly a small gift or book token.
3. They go to church
Every Christmas morning, the royals attend a church service at St Mary Magdalene Church.
4. They eat
The royals go to Sandringham Estate, Norfolk, in the early afternoon to enjoy their Christmas meal. Around 4pm, the tea and snacks are served in the White Drawing Room. The family enjoy some sort of game, such as Venison or pheasant, with roasted winter vegetables.
5. They play games
After dinner, the family reportedly stay up late playing various games such as Charades. In the afternoon, William and Harry play a friendly game of charity soccer with the local pub team.
How do you celebrate Christmas? Let us know in the comments below.