Guerilla Christmas Lights | Christmas 2025 Part 2
After last year’s Mini Tree project, I wanted to add something I’d never seen in a neighbourhood show before: uplighting. It’s a trick borrowed from architectural lighting — shining light up through the tree canopy for a dramatic glow.
A bit of Googling led me to RGB floodlights that use the same protocol as the pixel lights we already use. They’re 10 watts each, run on 12 volts, and are bright — perfect for cutting through the tree canopy during the show.
A Temporary Mounting System
Obviously, I needed a way to attach floodlights, a WLED controller, and a battery to the trees without damaging them.
After some research, I found that the most common approach is to use that are tightened around the tree, with the lights strung onto the straps.
So, I designed my own version of that!
Once the lights arrived, I modelled them up in Fusion 360 and built a 3D-printed mounting system that replaces the original yoke. Each mount holds three lights and uses two cam lock straps to secure the assembly to the tree.
The mounts use the factory mounting holes, and the light angle is adjustable to suit different canopy shapes
Powering the Lights
To keep everything consistent with the rest of the display, I stuck with a 12-volt system.
For power, I needed something portable and reliable, and I already had the perfect solution: Milwaukee M12 tool batteries.
They’re rugged, easy to charge, and a 5Ah pack can run the lights at full brightness for around two hours. Each tree setup uses one battery, which can easily be swapped out every few nights.
I found a model for a Milwaukee battery receiver online and used it as the base for my own custom battery box.
This parametric rugged box model is fantastic, and I’ve used it for all sorts of things over the years. You can find it at the link below.
I added the receiver for the M12 battery and a spot for the wiring to travel through, and that was it!
Assembly and Testing
I printed everything with Prusament PETG, which runs beautifully on the Prusa Core One.
To keep the mounts from slipping, I added foam rubber padding to the back, then strapped the assemblies around a nearby park tree for testing.
The lights daisy-chain through to the battery box, where the WLED controller lives, then loop back to close the circuit.
After connecting a charged battery — everything powered up perfectly!
It’s not quite the same effect as the trees we’ll use in the final display, which have a lot more loose foliage, but the test worked flawlessly.
If you’d like to replicate this project, all the files are on Printables, and there’s a list of the products I used below.
Parts + Products Used
Pigtails (I cut extensions in half)
Any 25mm (1 Inch) strap should work fine
6.3mm spade connectors for the battery mount
2 x PG7 Glands for the cables to pass through
2 x M4 x 25mm countersunk screws (for fixing the battery mount in place)
4 x M3 x 12mm screws to attach Box_Mount to Box_Bottom
6 x M3 x 25mm screws for the latches
1 x M4 x 12mm countersunk screw to ‘lock’ the box and prevent access
2 x PG7 glands to pass cables through
Foam rubber to prevent slippage!
What’s Next
We’ll be installing these lights properly in the coming weeks and integrating them into the full Christmas light show using Falcon Player and xLights.
The next entry in this series covers our biggest addition yet — and it’s by far the most ambitious build we’ve ever attempted.
Stay tuned on YouTube to see it all come together.