Kate Middleton, Prince William Christmas Plans Revealed: How George and Charlotte Will Spend The Holiday

Christmas for the British royal children has gotten a major overhaul thanks to Prince William and Kate Middleton. Middleton, or Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, pushed to make the holiday a bit more lighthearted for their children, George and Charlotte, according to the Royalist blog at the Daily Beast.

The holiday used to be, as many royal events tend to go, quite formal. But for 2-year-old George and 7-month-old Charlotte, the day has begun to closer resemble a typical Christmas. Tradition used to dictate that no presents were to be opened Christmas day. Instead the royal children, including William and his brother Prince Harry, unwrapped gifts on Christmas Eve. The holiday itself was reserved for attending church and official events, with the highlight of the day being the Queen's Speech in the afternoon. As the Royalist put it the day was "lots of God and plenty of duty."

But as William and Middleton have started their family, she has made the holiday more of an enjoyable affair. Instead of attending a formal meal on Christmas, the family opted last year to take George to a long lunch with the Middletons. At the meal, presents were gifted and opened. The deciding factor in this shift was that young George was allowed to attend the relaxed lunch, which wasn't the case for the formal meal, according to the Daily Beast.

William has talked about the excitement in the family for Christmas, especially the joy of his 2-year-old. "George will be bouncing around like a rabbit," he said in an interview with Big Issue magazine, via People. "I think George will be extremely bouncy this year because he's suddenly worked out what Christmas is all about ... If I get any sleep on Christmas Eve it'll be good."

In the interview he confirmed that the family would be spending the afternoon with the Middleton family and that opening presents was on the schedule. "We'll go to church as a family on Christmas Day, as we always do. Then we'll watch George try to tackle his presents as he tries to unwrap them," he said, via People. "It's a very different experience at Christmas, having a family of your own."