My Mistletoe Kissing Ball

Did you know mistletoe is a parasite? It actually grows in trees and uses their water and nutrients to feed itself. I've seen it in so many trees in Oklahoma and Texas.
​And yet, it's one of the most cherished emblems of Christmas romances. Because tradition tells us it is an extra reason to kiss!
Rewind (do people still use that word?) fifteen years ago. My husband and I were buying our first Christmas tree, and as I picked out the tree skirt and topper to go with our beautiful six-and-a-half foot artificial pine, I saw something else I knew I wanted. It's called a kissing ball. A cluster of fake mistletoe is hung on a ribbon with a bell at the bottom. And it's been in our house ever since.
We don't always remember to take advantage of it, but my kids have noticed it more this year, and they sometimes stop underneath it and say, "I'm under the kissing ball so you need to come kiss me." Okay, then. We plop a big wet one on their cheeks and enjoy the giggles.
In my book, An Unexpected Legacy, my characters joke about there not being any mistletoe hanging where they're standing, so no kiss. She says, "Who needs mistletoe?" I agree. Who needs it? It's fun to just kiss your special person whenever you want without having to wait for a silly tradition from the old days. But it's also fun to look for more excuses to stop and steal a kiss.
​So, how about you? Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe? 

Letting my kitty check the kissing ball out in 2007

My daughter's first Christmas, she got caught under the kissing ball

PS, if you're looking for my mistletoe post for my youtube challenge this week, this is it! ;-)