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Massively's guide to LotRO's Yule Festival

Shawn Schuster
Contributor
Updated ·6 min read


Now that the Yule Festival in Lord of the Rings Online is in full swing, you may find yourself in need of a proper guide nudging you in the right direction. Well, that's why we're here! Whether you haven't had a chance to try the festival yet, or you're just stuck in a quest, this guide will help you get the most out of the event.

This year's Yulemath has many features that are identical to other events we've seen previously. You can head on over to any Town Crier for a complete list of events going on around Middle-earth. Because of so many similarities, I will refer to a previous guide we've done for this year's Summer Festival and explain only the differences. Plus, you can visit our Yule Festival gallery for a visual aid to this guide. It all starts just after the cut below.%Gallery-39170%

Bree-land Yule Festival
Let's kick this guide off with the the Bree-land Yule Festival. This is held in the festival grounds just north of the town of Bree. You can refer to the Summer festival guide for more information on the dancing contest with Ada Musgrove. Humbert Sandweaver is also having another of his traditional pie-eating contests where you simply eat as many pies as you can before the time runs out for a special title.

The Festival Run is back again with the exact same format as the previous seasonal festivals, yet this time for a different horse. You can see a screenshot of the Yule horse in the Yule gallery below. Winning this race will get you either three Yule Tokens or a Yule Horse Run Token that you can combine with 6 Yule Tokens and your previous horse token, or 4 gold for a new horse.

The Quartermaster is located within the town of Bree this time, instead of in the festival grounds. You'll find old Rob Hollybush in the town square, just west of the fountain. As with all Quartermasters, he will trade 5 Yule Tokens for a gift box. These gift boxes offer random prizes: some good, some bad. He also has two quests for you that will each gain you one Yule Token and are repeatable every few hours:

  • What Ales You - Run just out side of Bree's West Gate and you'll find a few barrels of ale right along the road past the bridge.

  • More Boar - Head out the eastern Combe Gate and look for the boar meat on the ground just off the road into the forest area.


Shire Yule Festival
In the Shire, most seasonal events happen at the Party Tree, just north of Hobbiton near Bag End. Here you'll find the dancemaster Oger Brockhouse, the Inn League initiator which we've detailed in a previous guide, and the Quartermaster Nob Hornblower who will give you two simple collection quests:

  • Good Cheer and Warm Cider - This involves gathering apples in the orchard just west of the Party Tree. The quest description says east, but it's actually west.

  • Ribbons and Bows - Head out of the Party Tree area east, and then north up the road. You'll find all the flowers, berries and boxes of ribbon you'll need right along the road and into the forest area to the east of the road.


Then there's a quite extensive quest in this area regarding Lobelia Sackville-Baggins called Yuletide Woes. It turns out that Ms. Sackville-Baggins has appointed herself as the official Yuletide planner this year. Talk to any quest-giving Hobbit in Hobbiton to start the quest, gathering the opinions of others in the area. You'll then need to see Ted Sandyman just north of Bywater Bridge who will ask you to find an invitation behind his watermill. From here you'll head back to Will Whitfoot in the Michel Delving town square, and he will tell you to retrieve the book of Festival Law. This book is found on a bookshelf in the library of the Great Smials, which is just inside Tuckborough. Return to Will Whitfoot to see what he says next.

Upon reading the official book, he will tell you that the only way to remove Lobelia from her self-appointed post is to get a petition signed by 10 Hobbits. Run back to Hobbiton with the petition, get the Hobbits to sign it (including the two in the Ivy Bush Inn) and serve Lobelia with the petition. Inevitably, she won't be happy at the news, so you'll get to watch her flip out for a bit, but when that's done, head south of Bag End to Gaffer Gamgee to claim your reward: a Yule Tree for your front yard!

The All-Shire Run is back as well, located just to the south east of Michel Delving, before you get to the Homesteads. It's a horse race identical to the Bree-land race (with a different track layout), and the prizes are the same.

Dwarven Yule Festival
This one takes place in Thorin's Hall. Once you enter the hall itself, you'll find the Quartermaster just inside to your left. He offers two quests:

  • Dreaming of a White Yule - Gather piles of snow just outside Thorin's Hall, to the west of Frerin's Court.

  • Dwarf-ice - Gather berries from some bushes just north of where you found the snow, and grab the shaved ice from the frozen waterfall north of the berry bushes. Be aware that grabbing the ice here can be tricky. The best method I've found is to stand just below the ice, pan your camera view straight up and click on the item name for the ice. If you try to click on the ice itself, it just won't work and can become quite frustrating.


The dance instructor is located in the underground Inn, inside Thorin's Hall and to your left past the statue. It is identical to the previous seasonal dance competitions.

Elven Yule Festival
The festivities here are located in Duillond's festival area on the southern side of town. Again, the dance instructor is identical to the others and the Quartermaster is conveniently nearby. She will offer two quests herself:

  • Wreathed in Fir - Just to the west of town you'll find some fir trees growing around a hill which contain the branches you'll need for this quest.

  • 'Tis the Season - Head north from the fir trees along the road to Thrasi's Hunting Lodge. Just off the road you'll find large trees that contain the mistletoe you seek.


I hope this simple guide helps you in your Yulemath questing, and gives you a better understanding of the winter months in Middle-earth. Be sure to check out our Yule Festival gallery below and have a Happy Yule!