Sure, nothing could feel less important than the holiday season right now, but if you like Christmas and are looking for a little distraction, you might enjoy this insight into the absurd grandeur of the holiday as a British royal. the Sun (opens in new tab) opens in a new tab) reports that Queen Elizabeth II purchases 620 Christmas gifts (opens in a new tab) for her staff and family each year, spending about 30,000 pounds (about $39,000). This is... That's a lot of money!

Lest anyone wonder how on earth the Queen finds the time, she does not pick out personal gifts for each person on her list. Instead, a royal aide told The Sun, "The gifts are usually book tokens or small china from the palace gift store, and most years she also gives a small Christmas pudding in a box."

Receiving the gifts seems to be a rather formal affair: according to the aide, the staff is instructed by the Deputy Highness to assemble in the Great Hall of Buckingham Palace. Here they line up and receive their wrapped presents from the Queen, who says a few words to each of them - usually something like 'Thank you so much for the past year,' followed by 'Happy Christmas'" (opens in new tab).

"If a staff member cannot be there on a given day (for example, Gilly who works at Balmoral), the house hold will send a card from the queen along with it," this official said. Fancy