# Simple and Beautiful NeoPixel Holiday Lights ## Introduction Get your Holiday cheer up and running with NeoPixels!  Make a beautiful color shifting light strand to put on your Christmas tree, your house, or add color and light to your artwork.  These weatherproof LED pixels work great indoors or outdoors.  We've included some fancy software to run the lights in an ever-shifting and changing array of color palettes.  It's not much more work to choose and customize your own color palettes to create the exact look you want. This project is great for beginners.  There is just a little bit of easy soldering involved.  Most of the challenge is in getting the software set up, but once you've got that working, customization is as easy as copy and paste. Pictures in this guide show either a [Flora](https://www.adafruit.com/product/659) or [Circuit Playground](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3333) microcontroller — either one works fine, or you might even consider the [Gemma M0](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3501). Gemma M0 and Flora are a little less expensive, but Circuit Playground has a lot more options for future expansion: it has ten LEDs on its face, so with a few extra code tweaks you can use it as a glowing tree ornament, or the onboard microphone could make things sound-reactive if you add suitable code. Other microcontroller boards may work as well, as long as it’s Arduino- and FastLED-compatible. These light strands are sturdy and versatile.  Have fun making everything glow! ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/049/292/medium800/adafruit_products_christmastree_neopixels.jpg?1513277590) - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/simple-beautiful-color-changing-light-strand/wiring-diagram.md) ## Featured Products ### Circuit Playground Express [Circuit Playground Express](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3333) **Circuit Playground Express** is the next step towards a perfect introduction to electronics and programming. We've taken the original Circuit Playground Classic and made it even better! Not only did we pack even more sensors in, we also made it even easier to... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3333) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3333/guides) ### Circuit Playground Classic [Circuit Playground Classic](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3000) Would you like to learn electronics, with an all-in-one board that has sensors and LEDs built in? **Circuit Playground** is here - and it's the best way to practice programming on real hardware with no soldering or sewing required! This is the **Classic**... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3000) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3000/guides) ### FLORA - Wearable electronic platform: Arduino-compatible [FLORA - Wearable electronic platform: Arduino-compatible](https://www.adafruit.com/product/659) FLORA is Adafruit's fully-featured wearable electronics platform. It's a round, sewable, Arduino-compatible microcontroller designed to empower amazing wearables projects.FLORA comes with Adafruit's support, [tutorials and...](http://learn.adafruit.com/category/flora) In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/659) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/659/guides) ### Adafruit GEMMA M0 - Miniature wearable electronic platform [Adafruit GEMMA M0 - Miniature wearable electronic platform](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3501) The **Adafruit Gemma M0** is a super small microcontroller board, with just enough built-in to create many simple projects. It may look small and cute: round, about the size of a quarter, with friendly alligator-clip sew pads. But do not be fooled! The Gemma M0 is incredibly... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3501) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3501/guides) ### Adafruit NeoPixel LED Dots Strand - 20 LED 4" Pitch [Adafruit NeoPixel LED Dots Strand - 20 LED 4" Pitch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3631) Attaching NeoPixel strips to your costume can be a struggle as the flexible PCBs can crack when bent too much. So how to add little dots of color? Use these stranded NeoPixel dots! They're very small, so they're easy to embed into any structure, costume, or wearable. Each dot is... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3631) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3631/guides) ### Adafruit NeoPixel LED Dots Strand - 20 LEDs at 2" Pitch [Adafruit NeoPixel LED Dots Strand - 20 LEDs at 2" Pitch](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3630) Attaching NeoPixel strips to your costume can be a struggle as the flexible PCBs can crack when bent too much. So how to add little dots of color? Use these stranded NeoPixel dots! They're very small, so they're easy to embed into any structure, costume, or wearable. Each dot is... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/3630) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/3630/guides) ### Female DC Power adapter - 2.1mm jack to screw terminal block [Female DC Power adapter - 2.1mm jack to screw terminal block](https://www.adafruit.com/product/368) If you need to connect a DC power wall wart to a board that doesn't have a DC jack - this adapter will come in very handy! There is a 2.1mm DC jack on one end, and a screw terminal block on the other. The terminals are labeled with positive/negative assuming a positive-tip configuration... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/368) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/368/guides) ### 5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply - UL Listed [5V 2A (2000mA) switching power supply - UL Listed](https://www.adafruit.com/product/276) This is an FCC/CE certified and UL listed power supply. Need a lot of 5V power? This switching supply gives a clean regulated 5V output at up to 2000mA. 110 or 240 input, so it works in any country. The plugs are "US 2-prong" style so you may need a plug adapter, but you can pick one... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/276) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/276/guides) ## Related Guides - [Introducing Circuit Playground](https://learn.adafruit.com/introducing-circuit-playground.md) - [Adafruit Circuit Playground Express](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-circuit-playground-express.md) - [Close Encounters Hat](https://learn.adafruit.com/close-encounters-hat.md) - [3D Printed NeoPixel Ring Hair Dress](https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-ring-hair-dress.md) - [Living Starry Night Painting](https://learn.adafruit.com/animated-starry-night-circuit-playground-express.md) - [MIDI Stomping Pads](https://learn.adafruit.com/midi-stomping-pads.md) - [Make It Glow - Your First NeoPixel Project](https://learn.adafruit.com/make-it-glow-your-first-neopixel-project.md) - [Flora Accelerometer](https://learn.adafruit.com/flora-accelerometer.md) - [NeoAnim: Using Bitmaps to Animate NeoPixels on Circuit Playground](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuit-playground-neoanim-using-bitmaps-to-animate-neopixels.md) - [Extending CircuitPython: An Introduction](https://learn.adafruit.com/extending-circuitpython.md) - [CRICKIT WobblyBot](https://learn.adafruit.com/crickit-wobblybot.md) - [Flora+NeoPixel LED Skateboard Upgrade](https://learn.adafruit.com/flora-neopixel-led-skateboard-upgrade.md) - [Sipping Power With NeoPixels](https://learn.adafruit.com/sipping-power-with-neopixels.md) - [ Memory-saving tips for CircuitPython](https://learn.adafruit.com/memory-saving-tips-for-circuitpython.md) - [Crickit Powered Mini Chair Swing Ride!](https://learn.adafruit.com/mini-chair-swing-ride.md) - [Fireflies with MakeCode](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuit-playground-fireflies-makecode.md) - [Mason Jar Snow Globe](https://learn.adafruit.com/snow-globe-makecode.md)