I am more of a Beltane person myself. I guess it's because I was born so close to it. I do love Yule though all the presents. :) I have posted two poems in Pagan Poetry one is about the Oak King and the other about the Holly King they are mirrors of the other just like their seasonal counterparts. Please tell me what you think.
I have a good read posted on my page entitled Midwinter Night's Eve: Yule by Mike Nichols . I too love all of the seasons and I do believe that there can be somethings said as to what a magical time that Yule can be. Come have a sit in my reading circle. Bring your cup of tea.
Brightest Blessings
that sounds like so much fun Phaedre!!
i spent yule with my boyfriend at the time and his coven last year.
they like to be uber traditional. so we rose before the sun, and we all sat and watched the sun rise while drinking apple cider. we all wore dark green, dark red and gold... the traditional colours. as well aswe ate only traditional foods! which was really cool. honey-glazed roast pork and beef and ale pie. also your supposed to have foods with a sunny theme. you could bake cookies or bread in the shape of the sun. we also ate a lot ofdried fruits and nuts-because traditionally thats what people would be eating... plum pudding was a biggie. mulled ale or wine was drank by most adults but hot chocolate with a big pinch of cinnamon or a teaspoon of liqueur was also used. baileys is good for this. infact i think my hot chocolate was baileys warmed over the stove and hot chocolate added. if your going to do that dont let it boil- that evaporates the alcahol... we had a yule log. oh! we decorated the house with A LOT of evergreens, espiecally holly. also mistletoe..
they also appointed someone to keep everyone happy. some people call her/him the joker and some call this person the king or queen and ive also heard lord of misrule used.
the main thing is to keep people happy and stick to the themes!
good luck with your ritual... thats about all i can do for you