Addressable LED Ceramic Christmas Tree - No Coding or Soldering Required!

Upgrading a traditional ceramic Christmas tree with addressable LEDs can be a great way to add some sparkle and a personalized touch to your Christmas decor. This instructable provides an overview of how to upgrade a traditional ceramic Christmas tree, using a pre-soldered string of addressable WS2812B LEDs and a Dig2Go LED controller.

• Ceramic Christmas tree with removable lights (or without lights to start and add them later)
• This one was from Casafield via Amazon
• WS2812B LED string with pre-soldered wires (or similar) with at least as many leds as there are holes on your tree
• I purchased them from AliExpress
• Dig2Go LED controller (or similar plug-and-play digital addressable LED controller, WLED software capable is recommended)
• Hot glue gun
• Long 12" locking forceps or tweezers (recommended)
• 75mm diamond hole saw drill bit for tile (if needed)

Most of these ceramic trees have very small holes in the bottom, and we'll need room to maneuver inside the tree to attach the LEDs to the tree lights, so you will need to use a diamond hold saw drill bit (for tile/glass) to cut a large hole. The largest I could do was 3 inches (75mm) on the bottom of my tree, make sure to measure yours first before buying a bit.

Also, follow the instructions for using the bit - start at a slight angle and then slowly bring it flush as it gets some bite into the tree. It says to use water as well, but I was going very slow and it didn't generate any noticeable heat.

Starting at either the bottom or top of the tree:

1. Hold an LED flush to a hole on the tree (use long forceps/tweezers to reach the top of the tree if your hand doesn't fit)
2. Add hot glue in the hole covering the LED while holding it in place
3. Place the light in the hold press against the LED
4. Hold in place roughly 15-20 seconds, and let go of the LED inside of the tree, it should hold in place by now
5. Gently push light all the way into place before the glue fully sets

If the LED slides out of place before it sets or you have any other issue, just peel off the cooled glue and try again. Repeat this process for each light hole around the tree on each level and for the star on top of the tree.

Connect an addressable LED controller capable of driving your LEDs. I used a Dig2Go which is perfect for this type of project. It runs the WLED software via WiFi and allows for nearly unlimited options for creating cool effects and creating a custom playlist of effects. It also supports sound reactive effects which is a lot of fun to play with.

You can also find plenty of other plug-and-play LED controllers on AliExpress or Amazon that would work here as well.

Enjoy your new amazing creation!