The Christmas Kiss: Mistletoe Ideas and a Kiss Video From Two Photos

Example Videos

Every face in these examples is AI-generated (adults only); no real customers are shown.

What a Christmas Kiss Means

For most people the Christmas kiss is the mistletoe kiss. Someone hangs a small bunch of mistletoe over a doorway, and two people who end up standing under it are expected to kiss. It can be a quick peck between friends, a joke at a family party or a real moment between a couple who have been waiting all evening for an excuse.

The custom is old. The earliest known written references to kissing under the mistletoe come from England in the late 1700s, and the American writer Washington Irving described it around 1820, noting that each kiss used up one berry from the sprig and that the custom ended when the berries were gone. Older stories link mistletoe to Norse myth and to ancient ideas about the plant, but historians do not agree on how those stories led to the kiss, so treat any single origin story with care.

Today the Christmas kiss is mostly a playful excuse for affection, and it shows up in films, songs and holiday photos every December. If you searched for the 2011 TV film called A Christmas Kiss, this page is not about it. This page is about the kiss itself, and about sending one when you cannot be under the same mistletoe.

Christmas Kiss Ideas When You Are Together

Hang your own mistletoe. Much of the mistletoe sold as decoration is artificial, and real mistletoe berries are poisonous, so keep any real sprig out of reach of pets and children. A small sprig over the kitchen door does the job; the point is the excuse, not the plant.

Make it a small ritual. Some couples share their first Christmas kiss of the year on the day they put the tree up. Others save it for the moment the last present is unwrapped. A ritual you repeat each year turns a quick kiss into something you both look forward to.

Take a photo, not just a selfie in bad light. If you want to remember the moment, ask someone to take one photo of the two of you under the mistletoe by a window or under a bright lamp. Tree lights are lovely in person but often leave faces orange or in shadow on camera.

Ask first. Mistletoe is meant to be fun, and a kiss is never automatic. At an office party or with someone you have just met, a simple question keeps the moment good for both of you, and a laugh and a hug is a perfectly good answer.

When You Cannot Share a Christmas Kiss in Person

Plenty of couples spend Christmas apart: one partner works a holiday shift, flights are too expensive, families live in different countries, or the relationship is long distance for now. Watching everyone else pair up under the mistletoe can make the distance feel bigger than on an ordinary day.

There are simple ways to close the gap. Start a video call while you both open presents, so you see each other’s faces. Post a small card or a sprig of artificial mistletoe ahead of time, to be hung on Christmas Eve. Record a voice note to be played on Christmas morning. And if you want something to look at together, send a Christmas kiss video: a short clip of the two of you sharing a kiss, made from one photo of each.

Time zones matter at Christmas too. Decide whose Christmas morning you will mark, or send one clip at each, so the message arrives when the other person is awake and has a quiet moment to watch it.

How to Make a Christmas Kiss Video With ReelCrew

ReelCrew turns photos into short AI videos. With the AI Kiss template you upload one clear photo of yourself and one of your partner, and the AI generates a 12-second vertical video with sound in which the two of you share a gentle kiss. It is a generated scene, not a recording, and it carries a small “AI-generated” label.

Step 1: Open the AI Kiss template, or AI French Kiss for a slower kiss. Step 2: Upload one clear photo of each person, one face per photo. Step 3: Sign in with Google and press Generate; it usually takes a few minutes. Step 4: Watch the free watermarked preview. Step 5: If you like it, download the full-quality file. Current download options are on the pricing page.

Make it a few days before Christmas. You may want to try more than one pair of photos, and Christmas Eve is busy. Keep the finished clip ready on your phone and send it at the moment you planned.

What the Video Shows, and What It Does Not

Be clear about what you will get. The AI Kiss template makes a gentle kiss in soft, warm light. The AI French Kiss template sets the kiss on a balcony at dusk with warm string lights behind the couple. Neither template adds mistletoe, a Christmas tree, snow or other Christmas decorations, and there is no on-screen text, so the video will not write “Merry Christmas” for you.

What makes it a Christmas kiss is when and how you send it. Send it on Christmas Eve, add a short line such as “Pretend there is mistletoe above us”, or pair it with a photo of the sprig you hung at home. The greeting lives in your message, not inside the clip.

If you would rather send something that looks festive inside the video, the Santa Visit template shows one person receiving a wrapped gift from a generic Santa by a decorated tree, and our animated Christmas card guide explains how to send it with your greeting.

Christmas Kiss Video Ideas

The mistletoe message. Send the clip on Christmas Eve with a photo of real or artificial mistletoe hung over your own door, so the two pieces read together as one Christmas kiss.

The Christmas morning surprise. Schedule the message for the moment your partner wakes up in their time zone, with a line about where you will be next Christmas.

The first Christmas together. If this is your first December as a couple but you are apart, use two of your favourite photos from this year and send the clip with three things you loved about the year.

The softer version. For a family group chat, the AI Romantic template gives a gentle moment without a kiss. Keep the kiss clip for the person it is meant for.

Photo Tips for a Christmas Kiss Video

Holiday photos are often the hardest photos for the AI: dark rooms, coloured tree lights, flash and glitter. Pick the clearest photo rather than the most festive one. A selfie by a window in daylight usually gives a better result than a party snapshot.

Use one person per photo, with the face large and roughly facing the camera. Remove sunglasses and heavy filters, and avoid hats or hair over the eyes. Head-and-shoulders photos work well. If both photos were taken in similar light, the two of you look more natural together.

The AI follows the faces it is given, but the people in the video may not look exactly like the photos. That is one more reason to make the clip early, so there is time to try a different pair of photos.

Sharing a Christmas Kiss Video

A Christmas kiss video is personal, so send it privately first, to the person in it. Most chat apps play short vertical videos straight away. If you both like it, you can post it as a story or a Reel; it is sized 1080×1920 for that.

Keep the “AI-generated” label visible when you post. It tells friends and family that the kiss was generated from photos, not filmed, and it keeps the post honest. Add your own caption, since the video has no words of its own.

Consent, Adults Only and the AI Label

Only upload photos of adults who agreed to be in the video, and that includes your partner. A kiss video is intimate, so ask before you make one, and ask again before you post it anywhere public. ReelCrew does not accept photos of children. Never make a kiss video of someone who has not agreed to it.

Every face in the examples on this page is AI-generated; no real customers are shown. Every video ReelCrew makes carries a small “AI-generated” label, and content checks run on photos and finished videos.