Royals at Christmas: December 22nd, this year's festive traditions

One of the best things about Christmas is the traditions. the things we always do, the places we always go, the songs we always sing - they all go together to make it a truly special time of the year. And royal Christmas traditions add a touch of magic, providing staging posts on the way to the big day. This year, several have had new twists but all of them have had that special feeling that adds the sparkle to Christmas. Here are five royal Christmas traditions in 2015.

Sweden's royals always receive Christmas trees as the festive season gets under way but this year there was a new princess on hand to bring the branches home. Princess Sofia, with Prince Carl Philip, made sure this tradition was perfection in 2015

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Prince Albert and Princess Charlene traditionally hand over Christmas gifts to Monaco's children as December gets underway and this year, the new parents seemed to enjoy this tradition even more

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The Belgian Royal Family traditionally attend a Christmas concert at the Royal Palace in Brussels with a week to go until the big day and pose for a photo by the crib. This year the traditional got a new twist as Philippe and Mathilde put the spotlight on the future of the family by keeping the pose to them and their children

Norway has been presenting a Christmas tree to the people of Britain for seven decades in thanks for support during World War Two. And this year it was the turn of a princess who lived through that conflict to switch on the lights - Astrid of Norway carried out this royal tradition in 2015.

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The Duchess of Cornwall has made her Christmas tree decoration party a new tradition and this year Camilla really got into the swing of things as she helped children from Helen House get their festive season underway while adding a new chapter to the royal way of marking this special time of the year