Motors, LEDs, and Christmas Trees!

For quite a few years, YouTuber Sean Hodgins was one of the most prolific innovators of Christmas ornaments on the internet—and we’re not just talking about finding new ways to use sparkles. This DIY zoetrope ornament is a masterclass in one-day-engineering. A series of laser cut animation frames spin inside a 3D-printed ornament-sized housing, while magnets and hall effect sensors trigger an LED to flash, briefly illuminating each frame as it passes a window, creating the appearance of a simple animation from the outside.