10 Royal Family Holiday Traditions You Might Want to Steal Yourself

Signing Christmas cards (really) early

Like a lot of families, the Windsors like to include a family photo with their season’s greetings—and a bonafide signature from Queen Elizabeth herself. Politicians and heads of state will get cards signed “Elizabeth R.” (for “regina,” the Latin word for “queen”), while friends will see “Elizabeth,” and her cousins will receive her nickname “Lilibet.” Sadly, card recipients won’t get to see the other cute nicknames the royal family uses. With a whopping 800 cards to mail out, though, the Queen won’t wait until the last minute to work on them. She spends part of her summer holiday in Balmoral signing cards so she doesn’t need to worry about them in the crazy days leading up to Christmas, according to PopSugar.