Goodbye, Mistletoe: The Old-School Alternative To Try That You Can DIY

You have your tree and your garlands, and your shopping is almost done — what's missing but a sprig of mistletoe to add some festivity to your holidays? Unless, of course, you're ready to kiss that parasitic holiday greenery goodbye and deck the halls with a fun alternative that you can DIY out of evergreen branches. Say hello to the kissing ball, an old-school decoration that could make the perfect addition to your home this Christmas. Also known as a kissing bough, this is one of those decor trends from decades gone by that bring back holiday nostalgia and make the season special.

When we call this decoration old-school, we mean very old-school. The hanging of holly branches to celebrate winter holidays dates back at least as far as Roman times, and spherical evergreen boughs (or "kissing balls") have been around since the Middle Ages, when they were used as a sign of goodwill. Now that you know the history of this mistletoe alternative, there are a few different ways you can DIY one, depending on the types of materials you prefer to use or simply what you have on hand. In essence, all you need is a round foam core and your choice of colorful decorations to stick into it to make a custom festive ball.

A kissing ball is a great holiday project whether you are curious to try something new with an old-fashioned flair or you're looking for holiday decorating ideas for small spaces. These days, lots of people make kissing balls with materials purchased from craft shops, including floral foam or Styrofoam balls as the base and ribbon, floral picks, wire, and hot glue to keep everything in place. Some DIYers might even use plastic foliage. But if you prefer to try a more natural and affordable alternative that is closer to the original, old-fashioned decor, bid the craft store goodbye and instead turn to your yard and gardening supplies. Use fresh greenery from your yard and garden, biodegradable sisal twine, and, for a truly traditional touch, a potato as the base to ensure the whole thing is able to go into the compost pile when the holidays are over. Whichever method you choose, you can decorate the bough with pinecones, clusters of berries from your shrubs, rosehips, or other long-lasting fruits.

To provide the greenery for the bough, use what you have on hand. If you purchased a real Christmas tree this year, you could steal some of the trimmings. Or, snip lengths of any evergreen foliage that you have available in your yard. Good examples of vegetation that is green in winter and usable in this project include ivy, boxwood, pine, spruce, cedar, and arborvitae stems or branches. Holly works particularly well for this DIY, and many types come with the bonus of winter berries. You might even include mistletoe among your greenery to keep it as part of the tradition. If you don't have access to shrubs or trees, you can use evergreen herbs such as rosemary and lavender as foliage.

If using a Styrofoam ball to try this DIY project, cut an assortment of greenery to about 3 inches long. Pin or glue a loop of ribbon to the top of the ball so that you can hang your finished decoration. You could also push some floral wire through the center of the ball or drill a hole to run a piece of hanging twine. Poke holes all over the ball, and insert the stems of your foliage into the holes. To dress it up, add decorations such as pine cones, dried orange slices, or clusters of winter berries to the ball with hot glue, wire, or floral picks.

For a more old-fashioned alternative, skip the foam and instead make two wreaths of the same size out of foliage. Use the evergreen branches to form the wreaths so that they remain flexible. Twine the branches into two circles, and use wire or sisal to fix them into place, as well as to attach decorations. Here's where the flexibility of the branches is important — to create a sphere shape from the two circles, insert one of the wreaths into the other perpendicularly, crossing them. Attach the two circles at the top and at the bottom to secure them into a globe shape. Since this type of kissing bough is hollow inside, you can follow tradition and hang a piece of fruit in the middle. Tie a loop of ribbon or twine to the top, and hang it in a strategic position to ensure plenty of holiday pecks.