Adorable tiny ‘USB Christmas Tree’ lights up with LEDs as you plug it into your laptop!

Christmas Spirit meets the Spirit of Innovation!

Sure, we aren’t in offices just yet, which means Secret Santa is a little more difficult this year, and chances are that office party won’t happen on the scale you expect it to. If for some reason, that’s giving you the blues, this absolutely adorable little gizmo should turn the frown upside down and spread some Christmas cheer while you work! The ‘PSB Xmas Tree’, as it’s labeled on Github, is a clever little PCB hack that plugs into your computer’s USB port and lights up like a tiny decorated tree. It’s incredibly DIY, but that’s precisely what I love so much about this tiny gizmo – the fact that it has this handmade personal touch!

The PSB Xmas Tree is the work of a Github community member who goes by the name of Piotr SB. The tree features a custom fabricated PCB with concentric circles that pop out to give the ‘tree’ its conical shape. These circular boards are connected via LEDs, that get supplied with power from your laptop’s USB port. There’s definitely a rustic charm to it as you can see, and Piotr mentioned it hardly costs anything (the PCBs were ordered from JLCPCB for something like $2 for 5 pieces) and runs on low power too. Aside from the PCB, the tree needs 19 THT LEDs (preferably 18 green and 1 red) and 19 1k Ohm resistors to effectively run the entire rig. A little soldering and boom, you’ve got yourself a plug-and-play Christmas tree that may be small in size, but it definitely matches the enthusiasm of your large decked-up tree at home!

You can download the open-source files from Github using this link… and while we feel there’s a charm to assembling the tree as it is, you could totally 3D print a tree-shaped enclosure that covers the gadget, giving it a more finished look.

Designer: Piotr SB

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