Christmas in the Royal family is a raucous and exuberant affair that balances private celebrations with public appearances. The Royal family normally spends Christmas at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
This tradition came into place 33 years ago when Christmas, like Easter, was spent at Windsor Castle. Later, Sandringham was identified as the hub of Christmas festivities.
Unfortunately, this year Royal celebrations are going to drift from the norm due to the coronavirus epidemic. The Queen spent Christmas quietly at Windsor Castle abiding by the social distancing edict.
Despite all the solemnities, Christmas is always a gay affair. There are gift exchange rituals and Christmas puddings. There are the Christmas Eve football and the Royal cards transmittal with the family photo and Royal insignia to go along.
Christmas Fervor or Fever?
In the Royal household, not only kids spend all of December impatiently for Christmas but, both Prince William and Prince Harry, too, wait with bated breath for this holiday season in particular. Prince William attributes it to the gift exchange that occurs on Christmas Eve during teatime.
He takes this enthusiasm for receiving and opening gifts from his mother. Princess Diana revealed that she cannot resist a wrapped gift and she feels a tingling to tear into the wrapping paper to discover the gift.
She observed the same tendency in her eldest son who, as a kid, would unwrap gifts in unusual places, leaving behind the incriminating evidence in the form of bits of wrapping paper.
The Quirky Royal Gift Exchange
The Royal gift exchange is not about exchanging expensive gifts from branded outlets. In fact, when Princess Diana got married into the Royal family, she served to amuse the Royal members by gifting them all cashmere sweaters and mohair scarves.
Though precious and given with love, this gift was in complete contrast to the Royal tradition, where the family gifts each other inexpensive gift gags to promote laughter.
Previously Prince Charles had received a leather toilet seat from Princess Anne. The Queen received a singing hamster from Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Once Kate Middleton gifted her brother-in-law a guide on how to ” Grow your own girlfriend.”
No wonder with these creative gifts, anybody will be excited to find out what they receive on the occasion.
