CELEBRATE: Pippa shares details about Middleton Family Christmases

Plus, questions remain about who we will see at Sandringham

George, Charlotte, and Louis attending Kate’s Together at Christmas. Credit KP

One of the best things about Christmas is the anticipation. There’s something in the air throughout December, and it’s not just the cold weather. Window displays sparkle with gift ideas and stocking stuffers, lights twinkle above streets, and markets spring up out of nowhere. 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. Bowls brimming with walnuts, shiny wrapped chocolates, and piles of clementines would appear around the house. There was always a distinctive smell, too: pine and cinnamon and the heady scent of mulled wine and pomanders that merged into one festive bouquet.

No matter how much we may adapt other celebrations, come December we tend to repeat our own familiar customs, year after year – and this is perhaps the key to the magic of Christmas. Looking back, I don’t remember the presents I received, nor whether the sprouts were overcooked or the turkey dry. But what I do remember are all the small rituals that we reveled in. It’s inevitable that as we get older, Christmases become more complicated, and as one of the biggest events of the social calendar, raised expectations and high stress levels are unavoidable. Families grow, the dynamics change, and as children become adults and parents themselves the innocent thrill of opening a stocking is replaced by the responsibility of ensuring a memorable Christmas for their own children, relatives, and friends.

Pippa Middleton Matthews, CELEBRATE

Merry Christmas Eve’s Eve!! That’s such a silly phrase, but fun to say. I have been looking forward to writing this newsletter for quite some time. I knew the Middletons had very traditional Christmases growing up, which Pippa details in her book, Celebrate. To me, it explains Kate’s aesthetic as a Mom, the children’s handmade cards, the homemade birthday cakes she makes. I think a lot of that is from her own childhood. And Kate wants her children to experience it also. I’m sure Anmer Hall morphs into what Pippa describes from their holidays, with an upgraded twist. And influenced Kate in creating her Christmas concert, Together at Christmas.

Before we jump into Middleton Christmases detailed in Pippa’s book, Celebrate, let’s talk about what we might expect at Sandringham on Christmas Day. There will be some interesting changes this year. Tom Parker Bowles, Camilla’s son, shared with The Telegraph, that he is likely to attend the royal Christmas this year at Sandringham. Tom expects to take his two children, Lola, 17, and his son, Fredrick, who was a page boy for the coronation. This will be his first Christmas at Sandringham. Usually, he spends them with his ex-wife and children, he shared. But, this year, Camilla personally invited him to come. Explaining that Camilla said, “I’d love you to come. I haven’t had Christmas with you for a long time.” In another interview he did, Tom admits that some Christmases his family would see Camilla a few days after the holiday and some, they didn’t at all. This surprised me.

For years, it’s always been announced that Camilla left Sandringham on Christmas Day (or the day after) and on Easter, returning to her house, which she kept from before her marriage to Charles. There, she hosted her children and family for the holidays. So, I was a bit taken aback that she hasn’t always shared holidays with her adult children and their families at her house. Perhaps her daughter and other family were there. I wonder if this year will start new traditions that will carry through until the King’s reign ends. Last year, Camilla’s sister celebrated Christmas at Sandringham, her first year there. This year, the Christmas walk might be full of new faces.

Also, an update on Bea and Eug. The Telegraph reported that Andrew and Sarah will be staying at Royal Lodge in Windsor for the holidays. I had wondered if they were staying on Sandringham property, just staying out of the public’s view.

Royal biographer Ingrid Seward shares in The Telegraph that she doubted from the beginning, whether Bea and her family would go to Spain for Christmas (completely agree).