For those who don’t know, my husband is a retired state trooper. Once upon a time, I decided to decorate a law enforcement tree in our bedroom. That’s when the Trooper Tree was born!
To be honest, it was pretty plain and maybe a little bit ugly in the beginning. I’ve definitely expanded and improved it through the years! The only problem (well, it wasn’t a problem for me) is that it was in our bedroom and only the people who live here ever saw it.
However, my husband told me last year that we needed to put it in the hallway sometime. He thought other people should see it for a change. The biggest problem is that there is no way the Trooper Tree would fit in the hall. The other problem is that I didn’t really want a law enforcement theme in my hallowed hallway. Partly, because I knew I didn’t have enough decorations to fill up the cabinet and partly, because I really do it for him. (I can’t say it’s my favorite tree.) Still, I started thinking about all I’ve been through in the last few years and what good care he has taken of me. Then I thought about how bad I’d feel if something happened and I was never able to do this one thing for him. It’s a lot to unpack, I know.
So the Trooper Tree came to fruition in the hallway. I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. The Super Trooper told me, “If anybody can do it, you can!” (No pressure.) I did have some help from my best girl. I also spent a little more money buying ribbon, greenery, and picks than I had planned on. Other than that, I just used most of the same things I used when it was in the bedroom.
The ornaments went on the little alpine trees because the big tree won’t fit in our hallway with the cabinet. I’m now calling them The Tiny Trooper Trees. Decorating them was a little iffy because some of the ornaments are kind of heavy. Luckily, they haven’t fallen over yet! Plus, they look really cute with the ribbons.
One of my husband’s old hats is always the Trooper Tree topper.
Most of the decorations on the shelf were things we already had. I did print out the prayer and frame it. Look at that photo of Spizzie with her daddy on prom night! Of course, that was quite a while ago. She’s going to graduate school next year!
This is a metal sign I found on clearance. It had some sort of fall quote on it. My big idea was to paint it with chalk paint and then cut some vinyl letters with Isaiah 6:8 on it. Unfortunately, I’m very new to using the Cricut. Apparently, not just any vinyl will adhere to chalk paint. It was only after I had wasted two big squares of vinyl that I did some reading and figured it out. Anyway, my best girl is home for Christmas break and she came to the rescue with her hand-lettering! (Also, the letters aren’t smeared. I think it was glare from the light. All of the photos I took of just the sign looked like that.)
This is the first time I’ve used this tiered tray. To be honest, I wasn’t sure how to style it. Once I played around with it for a while, it came together! The “Be Merry” sign is from the dollar tree. I tore off the greenery and glued a piece of my own along with a piece of ribbon and a glittered jingle bell. It’s probably one of my favorite things I’ve made this Christmas!
Here’s one final look at our Trooper Tree Christmas! Do you like the single tree or the decorated hallway better? Let me know in the comments!
