Perhaps you’ve got a spare Raspberry Pi lying around, or you are so well-known in your family for having a Raspberry Pi obsession that you can confidently expect to receive a fair few Pi-related goodies as Christmas presents this year.
The bottom line is, if your festive celebrations tend to be more Raspberry Pi than mince pie, it could be beneficial for you to familiarize yourself with the following ideas for Pi-based projects.
Interactive Christmas LED lights
One of the first things you likely always do to start making your home look Christmassy is… well, put up a display of Christmas lights. You might not have realized, however, that you could set them up in such a way that they are easy to customize simply via a web browser.
Just look at this Raspberry Pi project highlighted by Tom’s Hardware. The lights consist of multiple WS2811 LED strings that allow the LEDs to be changed on the fly through a custom interface itself run by a Raspberry Pi 3B+.
Christmas tree light show
Putting up the Christmas tree is obviously a key part of preparations for the festive season. MUO points out one related project that could be of interest: “This Raspberry Pi Christmas Sequencer project uses a Pi to drive Christmas tree lights.”
What if you like the idea of having Pi-powered Christmas tree lights but lack the coding skills to put together a light show? You could consider visiting online store The Pi Hut to buy a Christmas tree already fitted with lights and compatible with various Raspberry Pi models.
3D printed Christmas house
No, not quite a full-size house — this is more doll’s house territory. However, once you have used a 3D printer to create not only a house but also a snowman model to be placed near it, you can use lights to illuminate both.
The lights, in turn, can be connected to a Raspberry Pi concealed inside the house model. Using code written in the Python programming language, you can control these lights via the Pi.
Raspberry Pi fireplace
You might be keen on having the aesthetic effect of a fireplace in your home but know that the property lacks a chimney. In this instance, you could fashion a DIY electric fireplace from a Raspberry Pi and some NeoPixel LED strips.
The Pi can be set up with the LED strips before the entire array is housed in a wooden frame. You could even have the sound of burning logs playing on a loop. The only obvious thing missing from the fireplace after that would be the ability to make your home warmer…
Christmas music player
There might be particular Christmas songs you always love to hear — in which case, you could have them playing from a Pi-powered creation left in, say, your living room or bedroom.
This music-playing device can be fitted with a motion sensor that, when you enter the room, is triggered and sends a message for your favorite seasonal songs to be played.
