My Kissing Ball

I am a minimalist when it comes to decorating for Christmas.  If it were up to me, the tree would get put up every other year.  The only reason it is up this year is because my kids and husband did it.  I have a small, ceramic tree, and I would be fine using that as our tree.  We have the whole family here for Thanksgiving, and no one comes to see us at Christmastime.  It seems silly to go all out decorating when the kids don't even live here anymore.  I don't hang the stockings or use the tree skirt my MIL made because they are all cross stitched, and I don't want the dog near them.  Not that I really think he would chew on them, but what if he did?

This year, though, I decided to try making something with real greenery.  I had been to the Candlelight House Tour in Fredericksburg on Sunday with my mom and sisters, and was struck by how lovely the houses with real greenery smelled.  So I decided to make a kissing ball.  You can find many You Tube videos on how to do it, but they look pretty easy to do.  I cut cedar, Leland cypress, holly, and pine out of my yard.  I bought a couple of fir branches at the greenhouse because they smelled so good.

Then I went to town making my kissing ball.  It is pretty shaggy, and not completely round, but it is ok.

If I make another next year, I need to find a more attractive way to hang it than plain twine.  I should also add another bow and some more berries.  But for this minimalist decorator, it is fine!