Christmas is the time for giving, and this time of year a lot of employers give gifts or bonuses to their employees as a thank you for their hard work. Queen Elizabeth II is no exception.

Although the Queen has many traditions that she honors this time of year, one of them is giving her employees all a special gift. She gives each of her employees a Royal Christmas Card and a Christmas pudding to all 1,500 of her employees.

The staff at all of the palaces as well as those employees that work at the Palace Police and Court Post Office all receive this special gift from the Queen this time of year. Although this may not seem like a great gift to us, across the pond it is a huge tradition. The Christmas treat is made with eggs, butter, dried fruits, and liquor and was started by Elizabeth’s grandfather, George V.

The treat is served as part of a Christmas dinner and takes at least one month to prepare. The pudding must be aged to perfection and the liquor inside it keeps the dessert from spoiling. Some households steam the pudding with a silver coin inside and whoever was lucky enough to find the coin would supposedly be blessed with good luck over the coming year.

The Queen reportedly opts to purchase her tasty treats from the royal grocer, Fortnum & Mason, but has recently switched her purchases to the fine line from Tesco.

In addition to the puddings, Queen Elizabeth also donates Christmas trees to several churches including Westminster Abbey, St. Giles’ Cathedral, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and Canongate Kirk. She also donates trees to schools in Sandringham where she spends her holidays.

The Queen is known for her sense of humor and makes donations to multiple charities during the holiday season, but she’s also been known to give and receive gag gifts. Prince Harry once gave her a shower cap that said, “Ain’t life a b**ch.”

It sounds like the Queen keeps busy during the holiday season, much like she does the rest of the year. What holiday traditions do you have? Share this story with your friends and family and see how they celebrate the season.