Mistletoe and the Secret Code

I received a package in the mail today from my sister which contained a clump of mistletoe from one of the trees in her yard.  Mistletoe has been associated with the Christmas season with the tradition of kissing under the hanging plant.  A clump of mistletoe would be placed up in a high spot in the home and if a couple found themselves under the plant, they would be required to kiss.  The traditional way would be for the couple to pluck one of the white berries after the kiss.  When all the berries were gone, the requirement to kiss would no longer apply.  The mistletoe would be left up to bless the home for the year until it was replaced the next holiday season by a new clump of mistletoe.  The picture above is from a location in England and shows the waxy white berries of the mistletoe plant.

(WARNING:  Herbology lesson.)  Mistletoe is considered a parasitic plant which attaches itself to the host tree.  You can see the large clumps within this tree line.  Although parasitic in nature, the mistletoe is considered to be a necessary and important part of biodiversity.  It provides a home for birds, attracts various creatures and plays a part in pollination.

 Here is the little clump of mistletoe sent from my sis in Abilene, Texas.  It looks as though it had a slightly traumatic journey in the mail.  A bit wilty.  Right now I'm trying to revive it with water.  It has no berries but I still have big plans of hanging it up and stealing a kiss or two.
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Last night I finally wrapped what gifts I had on hand for the kiddos and placed them under the tree.  (You may recognize the wrapping paper from my failed project attempt in a previous post.)  When my children were very tiny I would hide the gifts in my bedroom closest until Christmas Eve.  When they were a little older (one in particular) would root around in the closet, unwrap the toys and play with them. 

We are now at the point where I must employ the Secret Code.  (You know, the Secret Code!)  I can't write the children's real names on the gifts or they will guess what is inside and try to wheedle me into agreeing to them opening "just one" gift before Christmas.  So instead each year I come up with a different system to keep the identity of the gifts secret.  (Last year I wrote different Christmas words on each gift.)  This year I wrote a different country for each present.  The (overconfident) children think that I have divided them up by continent and have already begun trying to guess which gifts go with which child.  But I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.  Usually the kids think they have figured out the code but on Christmas morning discover that they were wrong.  (It's just a fun thing to do when your kids are a little older and it becomes  more difficult surprising them.)

So what about you?  Do you have to employ the Secret Code at your house?




(photo credits:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe )