When you prepare for Christmas, do you opt to make homemade gifts, or do you go ahead and buy your loved ones’ presents from the store? There certainly are merits in both, but we’ll readily admit that we sure are suckers for DIY holiday gifts— or anything DIY for that matter!

As kids, we mastered the classic macaroni art ornaments and the ever-so-popular chore coupons, but as we’ve matured, we’ve used our culinary chops to construct edible gifts, like chocolate dipped oranges and candied pecans. Yum!

As it turns out, we are not the only ones who’ve been killing the DIY holiday gift game. Kate Middleton, or Duchess Kate if you’re fancy, is also known to subscribe to the practice. In fact, the very first Christmas gift she presented to the Queen herself was actually one that SHE crafted. Talk about gutsy!

A homemade gift fit for a queen

In an interview with the BBC, Prince William’s wife revealed that it was understandably tough for her to come up with a suitable present for her new grandmother-in-law.

“I was worried what to give the Queen as her Christmas present,” Kate remembered. “I thought back to what I would give my own grandparents, and I thought: I’ll make her something.”

Again, we have to give props to the Duchess for this bold move. Even though we’re pretty confident in our DIY skills, we don’t think we would be able to endure the Queen’s signature scowl if she were to hate it. You never know what that lady could do—she might even sic those ferocious corgis on a bad gift-giver. You never know!

We kid, we kid!

Now, even though the Royal Family has chefs galore at its disposal, Kate opted to make the Queen a delicious treat. Apparently, the Duchess makes a mean chutney (she learned the recipe from her own grandmother), so she made a serving of it and brought it over to Buckingham Palace for the Queen to enjoy on Christmas Day.

“I was slightly worried about it, but I noticed the next day that it was on the table,” Kate said.

Phew! That must have been quite the relief. Honestly, we don’t know if we would have the guts to do the same!

We have to say that this story makes us wonder what Prince Harry’s fiancé, Meghan Markle, will be giving the Queen this Christmas. It has been confirmed that she will, in fact, be spending the holiday with the Royal Family, which means the soon-to-be royal is likely stressing about the gift. We know we would be!

To hear Queen Elizabeth II’s take on Kate’s handmade Christmas gift, be sure to watch the video below. Hey, we don’t fault the Duchess for going the DIY route on this one. After all, what do you give to the woman who already has everything?!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on Kate’s royal gift. Were you surprised by her choice? Did you ever attempt a homemade present that ended up going horribly wrong? Do you have a super yummy chutney recipe that you would like to share?