Move Over, Mistletoe! The Kissing Ball Is the Holiday Trend I’m Excited to Try This Year, Here’s How to Make One Yourself

If you haven’t already started decorating for the winter holidays, now is the time! Christmas is just around the corner and you can easily make decorations as a fun holiday project with the family. Making a kissing ball might just be the perfect holiday craft to decorate your home.

Creating DIY natural Christmas decorations with items foraged from your yard and garden is a great way to bring a bit of nature indoors during the winter. It is also a creative way to decorate for Christmas. Kissing balls are easy to make with just a few simple supplies that you might already have.

Let’s explore the history of the kissing ball and how to make one to decorate your home this winter.

What Is a Kissing Ball?

Kissing balls, or kissing boughs, actually predate mistletoe as hanging Christmas decorations. In medieval England and lowland Scotland, people would wind together vines into a loose sphere shape and decorate with sprigs of evergreens, bay leaves, holly, ivy, rosemary, lavender, rosehips, and (you guessed it) mistletoe!

Traditionally, these evergreen decorations were hung outside above a doorway and a clay figurine of baby Jesus was placed inside the center. The idea is that people would be blessed by walking under the bough as they passed in and out of the building. It’s called a kissing ball simply because people greeted each other with a kiss as they were welcomed into the home!

The Tudors and Victorians evolved the tradition and pieces of fresh or dried fruit were incorporated into the design. (If you are interested in making a Tudor-style Christmas bough, English Heritage has a great instructional video!) There was also a lot of meaning behind which items you chose to add to your kissing bough. Rosemary represented the Virgin Mary and love, mistletoe symbolized life and fertility, and holly represented eternal life. Pre-Christianity, Druids also used holly during winter solstice rituals.

Some kissing boughs in the Victorian period used potatoes or apples as the center structure, but you might not want a rotting potato hanging around for the holidays. Follow along for a more modern way to make a kissing ball.

Supplies

• Foam sphere
• Ribbons
• Foraged greenery, or faux greenery (You could also use any boughs you trim off your Christmas tree!)
• Colorful accents like holly berries, rosehips, pinecones, or dried orange slices
• Pruners, or wire cutters if using faux greenery
• Hot glue gun, or straight pins to secure items

How to Make a Kissing Ball

1. Wrap a long length of ribbon around your foam sphere and secure with dots of hot glue or straight pins. Ensure the ribbon has a few inches to dangle from beneath the kissing ball and enough on top to loop over a hook or any other item you are using to hang the kissing ball.
2. Begin to stick evergreen sprigs into the foam ball using dots of hot glue on the ends of the branches to further secure them if needed. Cover the ball completely so no foam shows through.
3. Continue to fill out the festive look by sticking holly berries, rosehips, lavender sprigs, or mistletoe into the foam between the evergreen branches. Use pins or a hot glue gun to secure other items like dried orange slices or pinecones.
4. Hang your festive kissing ball above your door outside for a traditional look, or hang it inside your home to add some Christmas cheer. Pairing it with a foraged Advent wreath will really bring light and life into your home during the long dark nights.

More Options for Kissing Balls

Not enough time to make a kissing ball? There are some really lovely real and artificial kissing balls you can purchase from your local nursery or favorite home decor store. I have rounded up a few options that will look great indoors or outdoors and get you in the holiday spirit.

Try making a kissing ball this Christmas and see where your creativity takes you. Gather some friends or family together and make it a kissing ball party! Happy holidays!