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It’s that time of year again when gift-giving seems to be atop of everyone’s mind. That goes for members of the royal family as well.

Britain’s most famous family exchanges presents on Christmas Eve. Reportedly, they opt to give one another cheap gag gifts that make everyone laugh. Prince Harry once gave Queen Elizabeth a shower cap that read “Ain’t life a b****.” Kate Middleton once gave her brother-in-law a ‘Grow Your Own Girlfriend’ kit (pre-Meghan Markle). And Markle once gave a stuffed singing hamster to the queen.

But what about the royal family’s staffers? Well, they’re given presents too, and if you wonder what their bosses give them, someone who used to work for King Charles has the answer

King Charles’ former gardener reveals the Christmas presents the staff receives

Jack Stooks was King Charles’ senior gardener at the royal’s Highgrove estate for more than two decades. Speaking on behalf of Heart Bingo, Stooks told Showbiz Cheat Sheet what he received from the king for Christmas.

“Christmases were very traditional in Highgrove — just like how they would be normally in a home around the Festive season,” he explained. “They would have a Christmas tree in the house. There might also be one in the staff quarters in our mess room, which we decorated with tinsel and things to get in the festive spirit. We’d do our own little Christmas party in the mess room for one of our lunches.

“We were always invited to a staff Christmas party that used to take place at St James’s Palace. We would go in, and there would be canapés and champagne, a magician doing tricks, dinner, and entertainment for us. There was always something like that going on — it was lovely.  All the staff from Highgrove would be taken down to London on a coach and then brought back after the Christmas party.”

When asked what the royals gave out as gifts to their staffers, Stooks shared, “We also used to be given a Christmas pudding every year with the date on it, a Christmas card from the king personally written to all of us … It was really lovely and thoughtful — a great way of celebrating Christmas. It was really kind of the king!”

The late queen used to give the same present to her staff every year

King Charles’ present for his employees is a longstanding tradition of Britain’s monarchs, including his mother.

The royal family’s website states that giving out Christmas puddings to Palace employees is a tradition that started many years ago: “Continuing the tradition from King George VI and George V — [Queen Elizabeth] also gives Christmas puddings to her staff. About 1,500 Christmas puddings paid for by the queen (through the Privy Purse) are distributed to staff throughout the palaces, staff in the Court Post Office, and Palace police. Each pudding is accompanied by a greeting card.”

The Mirror noted that in the past, staff would receive a “luxury” pudding from Harrods or royal grocer Fortnum & Mason. But a few years before her death, Queen Elizabeth started giving an $8 Tesco version. It’s unclear what brand the king gives out these days.

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