Meghan Markle is gearing up for another Christmas with husband Prince Harry and their kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, released With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration via Netflix on Wednesday, December 3. Along with her signature meals and celebrity guests (Naomi Osaka, Tom Colicchio, Will Guidara, Kelly Zajfen and Lindsay Roth), the hour-long episode featured an inside look at Meghan and Harry’s annual holiday celebrations.
“[It’s about] trying to really embrace and lean into making every day of that month special as you’re wrapping up a year,” Meghan said while discussing the importance of an advent calendar. “But don’t feel like you have to do it all. Just embrace the special touches that bring you joy.”
Keep scrolling for the biggest takeaways from the With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration:
Every Time Meghan Markle References Harry and Kids in Netflix’s ‘With Love’
A Gift for the Kids
The episode kicked off with Meghan making her kids Archie, 6, and Lili, 4, an advent calendar. Each day was filled with a sweet treat or handwritten note from the duchess, who she hoped the kids would use it for years to come.
“All it’s really about is having a surprise and delight every single day for 24 days until you get to Christmas,” she explained. “They’re not supposed to be big things. They’re supposed to be small gestures.”
Lili Is Growing Up
Meghan welcomed restaurateur Guidara into her house to make traditional Christmas crackers — the toy, not the food — that are popular in the U.K. While the duo were creating their craft, the duchess offered some details about her kids.
“Lili really likes trying to be a grown-up lady at the moment,” Meghan said, explaining that she filled her daughter’s Christmas cracker with a lavender rollerball perfume.
Getting Romantic
Meghan showed her love for husband Harry when making his Christmas cracker with “a little love letter, a chocolate [and] a little hat.”
Archie’s Favorite Color
When working on Archie’s little gift, Meghan revealed that her son’s favorite color is red.
An Annual Tradition
Brunch is a huge part of Christmas in Harry and Meghan’s home. There is always a cinnamon bun star on the table to celebrate the holiday as well.
“I love the tradition of a Christmas morning brunch,” she said. “I do it every year with my family and I’ve already gotten a little head start — something sweet, something savory.
A Festive Treat
Along with her classic cinnamon star, Meghan also has a food tradition that originated when she was in college.
“One of the easiest sweet treats of all time, baked apples [and] baked pears,” she said. “When I was in college, I used to take an apple, core it, sit it on a small plate, pour honey and cinnamon in it and put a bowl on top and put it in the microwave for a few minutes.”
Meghan recalled, “It’d come out like a baked apple and you just put ice cream on, and it felt very festive.”
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Decorations for Santa
When tennis player Osaka joined the show, she and Meghan decorated plates and mugs for Santa. Meghan went for her classic calligraphy for the designs — writing a letter to Santa from Archie and Lili — after the artwork didn’t quite work out.
“Well, I might just have to go back to my handwriting game here,” Meghan noted when Osaka commented that the duchess was “writing again.” Meghan said she had to “stick with what you know.” In this case, it was calligraphy.
“It’s so pretty,” Osaka said. “It is kind of like cheating though, huh?”
How Cookies Help
Meghan called cookie decorating a “fun family activity” before noting that it’s also something she likes to do alone.
“[It’s] equally a very fun kids-have-gone-to-bed, quiet, calm, meditative moment,” she quipped.
The Christmas Eve Meal
Meghan and her family enjoy her mom Doria Ragland’s gumbo on Christmas Eve only.
“It’s a once-a-year thing that she does,” the duchess explained before making her own version on the show.
What Harry Hates
When hosting chef Colicchio in her kitchen, Meghan talked with him about Christmas Eve traditions. Colicchio is Italian, so he prepares the Feast of the Seven Fishes along with a beet salad, which Harry would allegedly hate.
“I’m so excited to eat this because you don’t cook the things as regularly that your partner doesn’t love to eat,” Meghan explained. “So, if I gave you the top things that my husband hates to eat, beets — he would call them beetroot, as they say in England — black olives, fennel and pickled vegetables. He hates all those flavors.”
All episodes of With Love, Meghan are now streaming on Netflix.
