What is a kissing ball?
Kissing balls are pomanders, round decorated bases studded or festooned with flora, ribbons or other small items and hung in an arch or doorway. You'll find them in traditional holiday decor as well as at wedding receptions. Tiny flower girls may have a flower-covered kissing ball to carry rather than a basket of petals or blossoms.
Do you need a kissing ball for Christmas decorations?
If mistletoe is a little sparse for your décor taste, a kissing ball will do the trick. When it comes to Christmas decorations, there are a few things that immediately come to mind, like DIY wreaths, handmade ornaments, and Christmas lights galore. But wait—aren’t you forgetting something?
What is a Mistletoe Kissing ball?
Tiny flower girls may have a flower-covered kissing ball to carry rather than a basket of petals or blossoms. Kissing balls are fairly simple to make and can be customized for parties and seasonal celebrations. Mistletoe is a parasite that grows on the oak trees sacred to ancient Druids.
What happened to the Christmas kissing balls?
As such, balls made with foam cores came into the picture in the mid 1900s, and along with them came the inclusion of mistletoe. Before long, mistletoe (and the perk of being able to sneak a kiss beneath it) took over as the mainstream, and Christmas kissing balls all but disappeared.
What is a kissing ball?
What is the best herb to use for a potato kissing ball?
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What do you need to make a kissing ball?
To make a kissing ball from fresh flowers, you will need floral foam instead of styrofoam. Floral foam is specially made for fresh flowers.
How many flowers do you need to cover a 4 inch ball?
Next remove all the silk flowers off of the plastic stems, leaving only the flower part. You will need at least 35 flowers to cover a 4 inch ball, more if you are making a larger ball.
How to use bamboo skewers for a golf ball?
Gently insert the bamboo skewer through the top of the ball, going in one side of the ball and out the other side.
What Is A Kissing Ball Or Pomander?
Even the beautiful country singer Carrie Underwood got married underneath a gargantuan one covered in flowers. But what is a pomander or kissing ball and why are they so popular now for wedding décor?
How to make a ball with ribbon?
Leave a tail about two to three inches. Now take the other end of the ribbon and repeat the same process, running it through the ball. You will now have a loop on one side of the ball for hanging and two tails of ribbon on the other side. Take the two tails and tie them into a knot tightly. Trim the knot close to the ball.
How to hang ribbon on a styrofoam ball?
Hot glue gun and glue or regular glue (if you're very patient) The first thing you will need to do is use your skewer or knitting needle to create a hole through the Styrofoam ball to run the ribbon. Hold the ball tightly and stick the skewer all the way through from one side to the other.
How many daisies do you need to cover a 4" ball?
NOTE: In the picture with the yellow pomanders, it took 33 daisies to cover a 4" ball.
Can you make a wedding bouquet with real flowers?
They can be done with real flowers or silk flower...even tissue paper flowers, and the flowers can be any flower the bride happens to like...daisies, roses, sunflowers, the choices go on and on. Plus, they're not beyond the capability of the average person if they are careful and take their time.
What is the kissing ball?
The kissing ball comes to us from that time, too. During the Middle Ages, villagers would wind together twine and evergreen branches into a ramshackle ball shape. In the center of this conglomeration of evergreen boughs they would place a clay figure of an infant to represent the baby Jesus. These “holy boughs”, as they were called, would be hung from the ceiling along passageways in castles and big houses to render blessings and good luck to all who passed under the bough and the holy infant.
What does the kissing ball symbolize?
The choice of herbs, flowers and boughs could state love, affection, charity, piety and more. By the end of the 19th century, the kissing ball now symbolized romantic love.
How are Christmas kissing balls used today?
As fragrant as these new Christmas kissing balls were, many people began to realize that the fruit and veggie cores might not last throughout the entire holiday season, let alone more than one. As such, balls made with foam cores came into the picture in the mid 1900s, and along with them came the inclusion of mistletoe.
How to hang a foam ball?
Stick the wire through the center of your foam ball until the end pokes out the bottom. Curve the tail end of the wire upwards towards the ball so that it hooks into the bottom. Press it in place. This ensures the ball will be secure when hung.
Why did Dickens put mistletoe on Christmas balls?
At that point, the Christmas kissing balls were hung—with mistletoe added to them , thanks to Charles Dickens romanticizing the plant in two of his books—for single young women to line up underneath to be kissed by an eligible man. But eventually, the trend changed, and became just a few small sprigs of mistletoe hung over a door.
What is a kissing ball?
Kissing balls are pomanders, round decorated bases studded or festooned with flora, ribbons or other small items and hung in an arch or doorway. You'll find them in traditional holiday decor as well as at wedding receptions. Tiny flower girls may have a flower-covered kissing ball to carry rather than a basket of petals or blossoms.
What is the best herb to use for a potato kissing ball?
Rosemary is for remembrance and fidelity; sage signifies good health and long life; boxwood means perseverance and faithful love; oregano signals happiness and courage; lavender is for devotion. You could make a traditional potato kissing ball with your own sprigs of evergreen and herbs.
