As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also partner with HolidayCoro, Wired Watts and Garage Celebrations — buying through the links below helps support this website!
Types of Props & Devices
There are numerous props and devices that you can integrate into your light shows, and many variations inside each category. Every light show will be unique, and you need to decide what you want yours to look like.
xLights / FPP Controllable Props and Devices
| Prop/Device Type | What is it? | Variations / Tips | Where to Buy (Links) |
|---|---|---|---|
| MegaTrees | Giant “flag pole” Christmas tree made from strands of RGB lights (see About MegaTrees) | Bullet pixels, seed pixels; various heights; DIY pole & frame or kits available | Holiday Coro Wired Watts |
| MiniTrees | Similar to MegaTree, but smaller (usually under 4-6 feet) | Bullet pixels, seed pixels; various heights; DIY pole & frame — pretty easy to DIY with some 3/4 inch PVC pipe and tent stakes; Twinkly Light strings work great for this. See article on using Twinkly and WS2811 together | Holiday Coro Amazon |
| Coro (Coroplastic) Props | Corrugated plastic in numerous designs, will holes drilled to push pixels through to create illuminated designs | Almost anything you can imagine for Christmas, Halloween and other holidays; sizes vary and can hold a few pixels to thousands; spinners are very popular; available in 12 mm for bullet pixels or 4.5 mm for Twinkly lights. | Holiday Coro Wired Watts |
| Singing Coro Props | Coro props with faces drawn on them to enable animated singing | Props that sing along with your light show music; xLights sequence must have lyrics track to do this — see article on xLights Sequencing Tips & Tricks for info on lyrics; available in 12 mm for bullet pixels or 4.5 mm for Twinkly lights. | Holiday Coro Wired Watts |
| Arches | Arches made up of pixels – often Coro, but also other designs like using PEX pipe | Arches are extremely popular in light shows; make great use of the “single strand” effect in xLights | Holiday Coro |
| Matrix | Pixel matrix capable of displaying text (like tune to radio station) or images | Can be made from Coro and pixels, or purpose made commercial panels | Holiday Coro Wired Watts |
| 3D Printed Props | Props printed on 3D printer designed to held either bullet or seed pixels | Less common that coro props; often made for seed pixels; DIY or available for purchase | Mostly DIY |
| Peace Family Stakes | Vertical stake driven into ground usually with 5-10 pixels on it — generally seen in “forests” of 50-100 stakes over large section of yard; creates dramatic effects | Many variations in height and construction; most basic is fiberglass stake in ground with lights zip tied to it; other options made of coro or 3D printed; lights come in strands of 5, 6 or 10 bullet pixels with 1 meter xConnect “tail” to hook to next stake | Holiday Coro |
| Light Tunnels | Either walk through or drive through | Most are DIY custom made using PVC pipe as a frame with lights zip tied to PVC, although professional kits are available | Holiday Coro Wired Watts (for lights) |
| House outlines | Outlines of lights along eaves of house, window outlines, etc. | Can be temporary / seasonal with clips or permanently mounted using track; bullet pixels, seed pixels and sometimes “pucks” are used. Check with your HOA before mounting permanent lights — many are starting to make rules about what you can and can’t do | Holiday Coro Wired Watts |
| Wrapped Trees | Live tree in yard wrapped with RGB lights | Can be entire tree, or sometimes just trunk and lower branches;Twinkly Light strings work great for this because they can be 3D mapped on phone and imported into xLights! See article on using Twinkly and WS2811 together | Amazon Holiday Coro Wired Watts |
| Icicle Lights | Similar to old fashioned icicle lights, but with RGB pixels | Can be free hanging, or sometimes coro icicles; Twinkly makes nice looking, free hanging icicle lights that can be 3D mapped on phone and imported into xLights! See article on using Twinkly and WS2811 together | Amazon Holiday Coro |
| Flood Lights | WS2811 flood lights; useful for illuminating house/trees/unlit props in color during light show | Available in different wattages; usually 10, 20, 30 watts | Holiday Coro Wired Watts |
| Moving Heads (DMX) | Spotlights that shine up into the sky and move based on DMX commands from xLights | Usually mounted on roof; if you live near an airport or have an HOA, be sure these are okay — I can’t use them where I live; please follow FAA and HOA guidance | YourPixelStore (not an affiliate) |
| Snow Machines (DMX) | DMX controlled fake snow machine; uses special fluid to generate fake snow | On-demand fake snow synchronized with light show for Christmas; requires DMX capable controller; note that most units are not weatherproof! I have never tried this, so please read reviews carefully! | Amazon.com (1500 watt snow machine) |
| Fog Machines (DMX) | DMX controlled fake fog machine; uses special fluid to generate fake fog | On-demand fog synchronized with light show for spooky effects especially at Halloween; requires DMX capable controller; note that most units are not weatherproof! I have never tried this, so please read reviews carefully! | Amazon.com (2000 watt Pro Fog Machine) |
Some folks choose just to put up lights, while others integrate more traditional yard decorations into their display. The advantage of inflatables and things like garage door covers is that you can see them during daylight hours. There is no right answer, just what makes you happy.
Standalone Props / Devices / Decorations (non-xLights)
| Prop/Device Type | What is it? | Variations / Tips | Where to Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garage Door Covers | Add instant color and holiday spirit to your house that you can see day and night — see article on Garage Door Covers! | Many different designs and colors for most any holiday, including Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Birthdays, Patriotic and more — also ability to create custom covers | Garage Celebrations |
| Front Door Covers | Similar to garage door covers, but for front or bedroom doors! See article on Garage Door Covers! | Many different designs and colors for most any holiday, including Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Birthdays, Patriotic and more — also ability to create custom covers | Garage Celebrations |
| Inflatables | Inflatable props can add interest to your yard during the holidays, and look great during the day as well as at night! | Many designs for all holidays! | Amazon — Inflatable Santa Train |
| Lawn Signs | Use printed coro lawn signs to advertise show hours, how to activate it, etc. I have a QR code on mine for folks to activate Remote Falcon to interact with the show! | Any design or size you want! I have 3 little RGB spinners attached to the bottom of mine to attract attention and a RGB 10 watt flood light so people can read it at night. | Most printers of advertising and political signs can make these — I used Stickylife.com (not an affiliate) |
| “Dumb Lights” (old fashioned single color Christmas Lights) | Can be used for background accent lighting ; roof lines; not really part of light shows | Many colors and shapes available; use C9 size for old school big bulb look! | Amazon — C9 Sized White LED Christmas lights |