For many of us, having a family member in military service is a way of life. For several generations, we have had family members serve and we have some serving now. As many of you will also know, it is an honor and a worry to have kids joining the service. We try to remember it was their choice to serve their country and we are proud of them for it. But we also worry and pray for their safety and for them to make good choices.

I saw a cute way to honor and remember soldiers and we thought it would be a great addition to our Christmas decorations. The Soldier box set out a box of toy soldiers with a sign to take one, sit it by your bed, and remember to pray for a soldier each night. We added a Patriotic Christmas tree and there you have the Soldier Tree. It is a simple way to decorate for the holidays with a statement. This soldier boxes can be put out in Church, at stores, libraries, gas stations, or anywhere that people will see it and take one.

To make your own you will need:
a tree, any size you want
a tin or shoebox
a package of toy soldiers
tree skirt
lights
garland
red/white/blue ribbon
red, silver, and blue Christmas balls
a tree star
a sign and stand

Take a small, Christmas tree. We use fake trees as we do not like to cut down living trees.

Some sparkly or cute tree skirt around the base of the tree.

Put your star on top of your tree. We used a silver star.

Put your small Christmas lights on your tree. We used white lights to add to the Red/White/Blue theme.

Add some red/silver or blue garland. We used red with stars.

Add your red, silver, and blue Christmas balls.

Tie the red, white, and blue ribbon into bows and add to the tree. We also wrapped a bit of ribbon around the base of the star.

Put the toy soldiers into the tin or box. Put the tin in front of the tree. We placed a soldier next to the tin just for a bit of flare.

Your sign next to the tree should say something like: Take a soldier and remember to pray for our military every night.

This is a quick and simple Christmas tree set up but it has great meaning for so many. The kids will love to help and you can explain the “why” of it to them at the same time so they learn to respect and pray for our servicemen and women. Please remember to pray for all of our service personnel, especially during the holidays, when so many will not be able to be with their families.

We used small trees but a full-size tree and decorations would be awesome. Of course, you can leave the tin out year-round, not just use it for the Holidays. Prayer is always needed and appreciated no matter what time of year. If you like you can keep the tree and change the theme to match the season. Or just have the tin and toy soldiers to help people remember the need.

Thank you for visiting and please come again for another edition of Out Standing in the Field.