Elektor's new Wordy Christmas Tree kit brings a fresh, maker-friendly twist to festive lighting. Built from eleven interlocking PCBs and powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico, it features 27 individually addressable RGB LEDs that illuminate Christmas greetings in seven languages with a smooth, soft glow.
 

Wordy Christmas Tree Design

The design uses individual light chambers for each word, giving a clean and refined look without flicker. The LEDs are WS2812-compatible and programmable with the popular Adafruit NeoPixel library, so makers can tweak the animations or create new ones entirely.

Assembly involves separating the LED boards, mounting the ribs and backbone, checking the Pico, uploading the code, and closing it up with the front panel — all demonstrated by Clemens Valens in the video.

For your bench, living room, or as a maker-friendly gift, it’s a festive project that’s fun to build and looks great once lit.
 
Wordy christmas tree front
The Elektor Wordy Christmas Tree brings an international flavor to your Christmas décor!

Visit the Elektor Labs project page here!

Wordy Christmas Tree Kit

Key Features

• Multilingual greetings in 7 languages
• 3D tree built from 11 PCBs
• Raspberry Pi Pico driven
• 27 addressable RGB LEDs
• Smooth animations, fully programmable

Kit Includes

• All PCBs with LEDs and SMD parts mounted
• Raspberry Pi Pico (to solder and program)
• 3-pin header + socket

You can get yours from the Elektor store below.

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