Gaming in Middle-earth: LOTRO - Yuletide is here...

LOTRO Yule Festival 2017

It's my favourite time of the year... Yuletide has returned to Middle-earth!

The LOTRO Yule festival is expected to run from 17 December 2017 (10am EST) to 8 January 2017 (3am EST, -5 GMT).

Here's a list of the new cosmetics and other items for 2017. These are available from the Barter Vendor Alex Grey in Winterhome, Frostbluff:

[Woodland Crown] - 35 Yuletide Festival Tokens
[Fur Mantle] - 35 Yuletide Festival Tokens
[Ornate Winter Dress] - 35 Yuletide Festival Tokens
[Ornate Winter Jacket and Trousers] - 35 Yuletide Festival Tokens
[Ornate Winter Cloak] - 35 Yuletide Festival Tokens
[Snowball Arena] - Huge Yard Decoration - 25 Yuletide Festival Tokens
[Winter Elk] - Steed (Speed: 62% | Morale: 200) - 80 Yuletide Festival Tokens
[Tome of the Snow Owl] - Cosmetic pet - 75 Yuletide Festival Tokens
[Tome of the White Hare] - Cosmetic pet - 75 Yuletide Festival Tokens

Note: These are Bind to Account on Acquire, excluding the cosmetic pets. There are Gift-wrapped versions of the clothes that can be given to others.

There are plenty of good guides out there about Yule 2017 (here for example), so I won't repeat what is done well elsewhere.

Instead, I'd like to just point out the sense of humour our SSG developers have with a little nod they did in the Theatre at Winterhome. If you look up and to the right whilst facing the stage in the main stalls, you may notice two "critics" with somewhat familiar names.

Do they look familiar? How about now?

Yep Statdor and Waldo are the LOTRO equivalent of the Muppet Show's very own Waldorf and Statler!

Even funnier is the conversation Statdor and Waldo will randomly have every so often whilst you are waiting for the play to begin. So much Muppet-love going on!

Yule in LOTRO overall just has that sense of humour, which I think makes me enjoy it even more. The Winterhome storyline about the workers can be a little depressing, especially if you side with the Mayor (but who's going to do that?). but Yule is definitely one of the strongest festivals in LOTRO and it seems to be very popular with players, who flock there every year.

Whilst you hit Winterhome all the wonderful quests there, don't forget the about the Yule-only quests for the four starter areas. And if you are new to Yule, visit Hobbiton for a non-repeatable quest, Yuletide Woes.

Lastly, I'll finish here with the following picture of a certain gentleman hidden away behind-the-scenes in the Winterhome Theatre, who may very well be having a birthday soon! Keep an eye out for him whilst you prepare to perform!

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Useful Websites

Official LOTRO Yule page: https://www.lotro.com/en/yulefestival

The LOTRO wiki page: http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Yule_Festival_2017