Princess Kate’s Family Share Their Christmas Traditions, From Michael Middleton’s Gift Wrapping to Pippa’s Childhood Memories

Princess Kate’s family clearly have happy memories of Christmases, both past and present. A regular fixture at walks to church at Sandringham, Michael and Carole Middleton and their children Pippa Matthews and James Middleton take Christmas very seriously. “Now we’re adults we always make sure that we spend time as a wider family so that the cousins get to spend time together, especially around Christmas,” James Middleton told The Sunday Times.

Carole Middleton revealed their very normal Christmas traditions when speaking to The Telegraph in 2018. “Generally, we got to church in the morning, then a walk, open a few presents with more in the evening,” she revealed. “Then champagne and smoked salmon for lunch, and the main Christmas meal in the evening––but with young grandchildren, maybe we’ll move that forward and have it at lunchtime.”

The lead up to Christmas is as important as the day itself. Princess Kate’s sister shared intimate memories of their childhood christmases in her book, Celebrate. Pippa shared, “when I was a child, my December weekends were spent making cards, decorating the tree, hanging the wreath, and preparing brandy butter and peppermint creams.” Pippa reflected on their childhood home, saying “bowls brimming with walnuts, shiny wrapped chocolates, and piles of clementines would appear around the house” in the lead up to Christmas.

“My Christmas essentials are mince pies, mulled wine and mistletoe,” Carole Middleton shared in 2018. While Carole was once a party planning queen, she is reportedly not too precious about how the Christmas tree is decorated. The secret is to have three trees: “a fashionable, themed one; a ‘memory’ one with baubles going right back, and one the children can decorate however they want.”

“I like to have a theme for the wrapping––all red, or all craft paper, or make a big thing with the ribbons,” Carole said in the interview. Even the family’s patriarch gets involved in the preparations. “Mike gets very involved with the square shapes,” Carole revealed. “He’s very precise. I like to save boxes and put tricky-shaped presents in them, and I do the whole thing listening to carols.”

For gifts, the best ones are homemade. Princess Kate famously gifted members of the Royal Family jars of her Granny Middleton’s chutney one Christmas, while her brother James gave jars of honey from his own bees another year. In his memoir, Meet Ella, James Middleton wrote “a gift from a queen to the Queen seemed fitting."

From their young family house in Bucklebury to the lavish surroundings of Sandringham, Princess Kate and her family have learned the true magic of Christmas. “Looking back, I don’t remember what presents I received, nor whether the sprouts were overcooked,” Pippa reminisced. “But what I do remember are all the small rituals that we revelled in.”