Holidays and blinky lights go together like hot cocoa and tiny desiccated marshmallows! And nothing could be blinkier than NeoPixels — addressable “smart” LEDs that can be chained together and controlled from an Arduino or other microcontroller.
We’ve got NeoPixels to fit every shape and budget. These make fine gifts as-is for electronic-minded folks…or, if you’re the techno-crafting type yourself, we’ve got lots of projects on the Adafruit Learning System showing how they can be integrated into wearable and decor gift items for family and friends.
Individual NeoPixels
Our original sewable NeoPixels are expressly designed for the Flora and Gemma microcontrollers using conductive thread. But there’s also breadboard-friendly NeoPixels and tiny solderable ones too!
Project idea: Glowing Skullcandy Headphones Mod. Mod your headphones to glow! Express your personal blinken-style by adding 14 color-changing NeoPixels to a white pair of Skullcandy headphones. This intermediate-level soldering project embeds a FLORA main board in one earphone and uses a piece of ribbon wire to connect to the other earphone. Each pixel is addressable, so the colors an animation possibilities are endless!
NeoPixel Shapes
For building up larger projects, NeoPixels come in 8-pixel sticks, a 7-pixel “jewel,” rings of 12, 16, 24 or 60 pixels, even an 8×8 pixel “NeoMatrix.”
Project idea: NeoPixel Cosmic Turtle Necklace. Uses a 7-pixel NeoPixel Jewel and Pro Trinket microcontroller. Wear him proudly around your neck or give him to someone shiny. This project is easy to customize! If you already have a Cosmic Turtle, or if for some unfathomable reason you don’t like Turtles, you can still create a blinking, twinkling, pulsing, slick LED necklace that embraces your inner Spirit Animal.
NeoPixel Strips
Perhaps the canonical NeoPixel form factor! Available with 30, 60 or 144 pixels per meter, on a black or white strip, with a weather-resistant sleeve.
Project idea: Animated NeoPixel Glow Fur Scarf. Build a fantastic light-up fuzzy scarf with 7 different color modes. Easily switch between modes with the press of a button. With a little easy code hacking, you can even create your own color combinations. Warning: Wearing this scarf in public will get you noticed. Children will follow you around like you’re the pied piper. Adults and paparazzi will chase you down the street in order to get a photo with you. Minstrels will sing ballads about the glow you left in their hearts long after your batteries die.
Flex Matrices
New this year are flexible NeoPixel matrices, in 8×8, 16×16 and 8×32 sizes. I prefer to think of these “formable” rather than flexible. They can be bent into a shape, but won’t hold up to continued flexing forever. That goes for strips too.
NeoPixel Treats for Advanced Users
If you’ve stretched beyond the capacity of the Arduino microcontroller and its ilk, maybe it’s time to step up to something with more muscle. Fadecandy is a USB device for your PC, Mac or Raspberry Pi that controls up to 512 NeoPixels with supreme efficiency. Or if you’d prefer to stick with the familiar Arduino programming mindset, the Teensy 3.2 microcontroller with OctoWS2811 adapter is similarly suited for projects involving huge numbers of NeoPixels.
Project Idea: 1,500 NeoPixel LED Curtain with Raspberry Pi and Fadecandy. At the guru end of the do-it-yourself spectrum, this massive NeoPixel project might make a fantastic holiday display.
We’re excited for the Holiday Season here at Adafruit, and we can’t wait to share that excitement with you! Stay tuned into the blog where you will find new, handpicked gift guides five days a week from November 9th through December 24th, 2015 alongside holiday themed tutorials and builds!
Free Deals
Adafruit offers exciting deals and free items when you shop with us. As of October 13th, 2015 we are currently offering:
- Adafruit Perma-Proto Half-sized Breadboard PCB – Single for order $99 or more
- Adafruit Trinket – Mini Microcontroller – 5V Logic for orders $149 or more
- Adafruit Pro Trinket – 5V 16MHz for order $249 or more
Adafruit Holiday Deadlines 2015
Here are your 2015 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
The Adafruit Shipping Department works hard to get your orders out as quickly as we can, but once they’re in the hands of our carriers they’re out of our control.
Carriers have been struggling to keep up with the sharp rise in online orders. UPS, FedEX, and USPS all experienced delivery delays over the last few years.
So all the Adafruit Shippers say: Please be sure you get your gifts early! Order as soon as you can! Once you place your order we’ll ship like the wind!
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 11, 2015 – There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive by December 24.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 17, 2015 – Arrive by 12/24/2015.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 18, 2015 – Arrive by 12/24/2015.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 21, 2015 – Arrive by 12/24/2015.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday or Sunday service for UPS or USPS.
Friday, Dec. 25, 2015, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday– December 11, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2015 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders)): Place orders by Friday – November 20, 2015. Can take up to 30 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/25/2015 or sooner, but not a trackable service and cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/2015.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 5, 2015. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2014 or sooner.
Gift Certificates are always available at any time.
When in doubt contact us!
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