The $12 Christmas gift the Queen gives all of her staff members

Christmas is the most expensive time of year for anyone, but for Queen Elizabeth… it reportedly costs more than $57,000.

It's all because Her Majesty, 93, generously hands out gifts to all 1500 of her staff and sends off 750 Christmas cards, according to the Royal Household website.

So what does the Queen treat all her servants with each Christmas? A traditional Christmas pudding, of course, along with a handwritten card.

It's a yearly tradition the royals have continued since King George V started handing out puddings to staff before the First World War.

In previous years, staff received luxury puddings from brands such as Harrods, but with Christmas getting more expensive each year Her Majesty reportedly had to downgrade.

As Hello magazine reported last year, the Queen now hands out Tesco's Finest puddings at the bargain price of just $AUD11.45 each.

That still amounts to more than $17,000 just on puddings - all out of the Queen's own purse.

The monarch's generosity doesn't stop there. Long-standing staff members are also treated with extra gifts such as shopping vouchers, framed photos and alarm clocks.

However, it could be said the greatest gift of all could be when the Queen personally presents staff with their gifts one by one, wishing them a Happy Christmas at the annual staff party held at Buckingham Palace in December.

While the Queen enjoys sticking with traditional gifts for her staff, she is known to enjoy a joke present when it comes to her family.

It's reported that the whole royal family shares a hilarious yearly tradition of giving each other cheap gag gifts to open on Christmas Eve in Sandringham.

In recent years Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have joined in on the fun, with the Duchess of Cambridge once giving Prince Harry a "Grow Your Own Girlfriend" kit.

Another year, Harry is said to have gifted his grandmother a shower cap with the words "Ain't Life A Bitch".

This year, Harry and Meghan are missing Christmas at Sandringham and will instead spend the festive holiday with the Duchess' mother, Doria Ragland.