The collection of Mistletoe is a tradition that spans over 200 years of American tradition. The green leafy substance has become an excuse on Christmas Eve for a kiss from your honey and a great way to decorate when you are in the mood to “hang the green.” Most guys are always looking for an excuse to kiss a girl and most girls enjoy a guy finding an excuse! I am going to share with you how you can find wild mistletoe, harvest it, and find ways to use it to bring joy into the lives of others at Christmas-time.
1. How Do I Find Mistletoe?
First you need to find a dense woods. You will be hunting mistletoe in the late fall to early winter, otherwise, it will be difficult to find Mistletoe. Mistletoe basically grows in the tops of trees. I have found mistletoe mostly in the branches and around the trunks of mature hardwood trees such as oak, hickory, maple, etc. In late fall when most of the leaves have fallen from the trees, it is a lot easier to find bright green mistletoe growing against the gray contrast of a tall tree. You won’t be able to miss it. It is easily identifiable in the late fall and early winter. Hardwood trees grow tall so you are probably wondering how you are going to reach the mistletoe? If you are afraid of heights climbing a tall oak tree is not an option! I know this is really going to sound “redneckish,” but you will need to find yourself a good shotgun. The shotgun of choice for me is the 12 gauge. It has a enough power to reach up in the tops of those trees. Plus the amount of shot in a 12 gauge shell is sufficient to harvest a lot of mistletoe.
2. Harvesting the Mistletoe
Once you have located the mistletoe in the top of the tree. Tell everyone to stand back and hold their ears. Just take good aim and fire away. By the time the pellets from the shotgun shell reaches the mistletoe is will have a wide enough pattern to get the job done. As everyone looks up they will be excited to see mistletoe falling like rain. You want to collect the mistletoe that still has the stems connected so you can tie them together later on. Take plenty of zip lock bags to harvest the mistletoe (preferably the gallon size). Your whole family will have a great time collecting the mistletoe as it falls to the ground and you will be creating some Christmas memories to last a life time.
3. Some Ways to Use the Mistletoe at Christmas-Time
One Christmas season I collected enough mistletoe to give it away as gifts before the holidays. People were thrilled to have some real mistletoe given to them. It was a good way to spread holiday cheer. Place it on your Christmas tree like an ornament. Take some green thread and tie it together by the stems in a clump sort of like broccoli. Then place an ornament hook through the string and hang it upside down on the tree. And of course, the traditional way to hang mistletoe is to hang it by a string from the tops of doorways to catch unsuspecting folks in a position for a kiss! Another way to use mistletoe is to surround a big red candle with sprigs in the form of a wreath. There is nothing like the real thing when it comes to creating an atmosphere for Christmas.
Now get busy and plan a trip to the woods. If you live in the north you may want to wait for that first snow. Snow makes searching for mistletoe even easier. There is nothing quite like entering a woods after a few inches of snow. Your family will enjoy walking in a “winter wonderland” of Christmas past as well as creating a tradition for Christmas future. With or without the back drop of snow, mistletoe hunting will help everyone to catch the Christmas spirit.
Happy hunting!
