Hi Fire, Den I just sent the trades your way.

No problem
Actually, yes. Yesterday Ash and I bought our Holiday tree, today he went to buy the lights so I guess we'll be decorating the tree at last I went nuts this year, bought a ton of ornaments, figurines and candleholders I'm not really a Christmas person (lately I've been rediscovering myself and I'm actually celebrating the winter solstice/Yule), but this year was so shitty for me that I want to finish it with a bang, share festivities with my family (although they celebrate a different holiday than I do, but it's the same time, the same tradition with pagan roots anyway, and it's important to them) and invite the sun into my life. So I'm kind of excited for the holidays for once I also invited my mom and granny to my place, so granny could finally see it (plus I didn't want her to be alone on Christmas Eve and the holidays in general).

How about you? Anything fun on the horizon?

hii! just hopping by because i had this post bookmarked, opened it and i read you're celebrating yule, may i ask what you're planning to do? it's yule in a few days and i'll be at my boyfriends' house for the holidays, so can't really do much since i'm not at home alone as usual. i thought maybe i could steal a couple ideas haha

Actually there's not much difference (that I know of, but I'm a newbie) between celebrating Yule and Christmas. At least in my native customs. The colors corresponding to Yule are the same for Christmas: gold, red, white, green. There's still the tree to decorate (most traditional would be fir, I think), you can use dried oranges, cinnamon sticks, (pine)cones, gingerbread cookies as ornaments or you can just go with normal ornaments. You have the festive dinner, give and receive presents, hang the mistletoe and everhything.
More yule things would be burning the yule log (I think you should hang it at your door, then burn it down and use the ashes to cleanse the house, but I didn't look too much into it, as I can't really do it in a rented place). Burning a lot of candles to invite the sun back. I managed to get some tree ornaments with the sun motif ). I think from Dec 21st till Jan 1st ('causeYule is celebrated for 12 days) I'll be starting my days with sun salutations yoga, maybe short meditations after. I got a book on Sun magic so maybe I'll find some easy ritual, idk. I want to buy cinnamon sticks and use them as incense, maybe cleanse the house with it. I'll prepare the meals with good intentions, ask my guides and ancestors to join me and my family, also just before dinner, and I think that's basically it for me. I'm a rookie in this, so I want to start such celebrations very lightly, chill and everything, not something extra elaborate I might search some crystals that correspond to Yule, see if I have any and decorate the apartment with them. I'll have to clean my altar a bit, grandma might get a heart attack
I just generally avoid the nativity scene and Santa, instead going for reindeers, owls and penguins, lol, but I guess that's just my preference. I hope for the next year my celebrations will expand
Overall, I'm going very basic this year. Just doing you is fine for Yule :)

And hey, Happy Birthday!

omg i'm sorry i've only just seen this!
i love how you're taking it very easy! i tend to exaggerate during pagan holidays, i took samhain wayy too seriously, while i couldn't really do much today since i was at someone else's house and was too embarassed to ask for candles or anything else heh. i don't get really much time alone here, and i didn't bring crystals or tarots or anything that didn't fit in my backpack. i'm a bit disappointed, but i'm celebrating christmas for the first time and it's a big deal for my boyfriend's family haha.
i'll make sure to meditate in front of the fire before bed, and hope next year i'll be able to do something more elaborate. this year i'll be fine with baking cookies, cuddling the cat under the tree and eating way too much
thank you again for the ideas mem! and for the bday wishes

Hi, can I get 100 blue guppies and 200 bay leaves please? Hope this is still active.

Hi Zuralli! I've been through some rough patches but I'm back on my feet again, so I'm feeling great, just busy a ton And how are you doing?

@CycloneKira: Yaaasss, the thread is still active, it's just been quiet since Christmas I guess I looked at the last post yesterday or so and was shocked that it's been that long

Both trades sent~