A house isn’t truly a home without special memories being made there and Carole Middleton knows a thing or two about creating a fun experience for her grandkids. The Princess of Wales’s mum - a self-confessed "list-maker" starts planning Christmas months ahead of time and makes sure there’s a tree for the children to decorate themselves.
This year the autumn is shaping up to be a little different for the Wales family as it’s widely reported that they’re set to move house by Bonfire Night. That means that they could get to enjoy one last Halloween at Adelaide Cottage - and as this holiday is an "autumn highlight" for Carole, she’ll surely be keen to get involved.
She revealed how much Halloween means to her in a post shared on the Party Pieces Instagram account back in 2022. The caption appeared alongside a picture taken by Liz Mcauley and Carole declared, "I can still remember the fun and frights from my own childhood; the chance to dress up, decorate pumpkins and go trick-or-treating!"
The Princess of Wales’s mum added that she’d even grown her own pumpkins and was "looking forward to decorating" them with her "loved ones". Once you’ve taken the plunge and grown pumpkins once, surely there’s no going back, but she’s clearly up for spooky celebrations even if this is one tradition that hasn’t lasted.
It’s a rather surprising admission from Carole too, given that Halloween is often viewed as a very American holiday, especially with the custom of trick or treating. It’s not an occasion the Royal Family publicly celebrates or posts about and the Middletons are big believers in tradition too.
Despite this, Carole grew up embracing Halloween and it’s an excuse to get the family together for "fun and frights". Prince George, Charlotte and Louis are understood to have gone trick or treating in London in the past and it’s been said that Kate has even been spotted making a Halloween costume buying trip to the supermarket in Norfolk.
Carole’s "autumn highlight" has seemingly become a treasured part of October for her Wales grandchildren too and celebrating together would be a lovely way to close the chapter of living at Adelaide Cottage.
Of course, they could always go to her house, as Carole and Michael live nearby in Berkshire, as do their other children and grandchildren. Before long, though, Halloween will be over and "soon after" that is when the mum-of-three gets to work planning Christmas.
It sounds like a quick transition from one holiday to another, but Carole Middleton is a stickler for organisation and explained in an interview that she’s a "big list-maker" and tries to "get everyone involved".
Although William, Kate, George, Charlotte and Louis have celebrated Christmas with the King and Queen at Sandringham House most recent years, they’ll still enjoy spending time with the Princess’s side of the family. In her view, you can’t be "too serious" throughout the festive season and entertaining the children is a must.
"I’m going to need a few of these cheeky chaps this December, to hide around the house and make my grandchildren laugh," she once wrote alongside a snap of two festive elves. "As much as I love immaculate decorations, we can’t be too serious at Christmas!"
