Okay, here’s my blog post about making an animated Christmas projector:
So, the other day I was hit with this crazy idea: I wanted to make one of those cool animated Christmas projectors, you know, the ones that throw moving snowflakes or Santas onto your house? I figured, how hard could it be? (Famous last words, right?)
Getting Started
First, I gathered all the stuff I thought I’d need. This included:
- An old projector I had lying around.
- Some clear plastic sheets – like the kind used for overhead projectors (remember those?).
- Permanent markers in different colors.
- A small motor – I salvaged this from an old toy.
- Some cardboard and tape.
- A power supply for the motor.
The Messy Part
Then, I started drawing my Christmas designs on the plastic sheets. I went with simple stuff: snowflakes, stars, a not-so-great-looking Santa, and some wobbly Christmas trees. It was a bit messy, and my artistic skills are, let’s just say, “developing.”
Next, I cut the plastic sheets into circles, making sure they were small enough to fit inside the projector’s lens area. I created a disc with a slot from cardboard, and fixed the plastic circles inside the slot, so that they were free to rotate.
Motorizing It
This is where things got a little tricky. I needed to get the plastic circle to rotate smoothly in front of the projector lens. I used cardboard and a lot of tape to build a little housing for the motor, then I attached the motor shaft to the plastic disc that I made before. It took some fiddling to get it aligned just right, so the disc would spin without wobbling too much. Once that part was set up, I simply attached it in front of the projector lens with some tape.
Powering Up
I connected the motor to the power supply, held my breath, and flipped the switch. And…it worked! Well, sort of. The disc spun, but it was a bit jerky. And the images were, uh, not exactly high-definition. The colors from the markers were also a bit faded when projected, and the Santa looked like he’d had a rough night.
The Result
But you know what? It was my animated Christmas projector. It was homemade, a bit janky, and definitely unique. It wasn’t perfect, but it did throw moving Christmas shapes onto my wall. My kids loved it, and that’s all that really mattered. And frankly speaking, it was a super cool and fun process. I’ll probably try to refine it next year, maybe with some better materials and a smoother motor. But for now, I’m calling it a win!