Designs/Ideas

A "megatree" is simply a display of lights shaped into the general form of a triangular pine tree. There is no "right" or "wrong" way to make one -- it's completely up to the whim of the DIY'er. The only overriding ideas everyone should use in making a megatree are (1) electrical safety and (2) physical safety so it doesn't fall down because when they fall down (as this one did after 70-mph winds came through) it's truly a mess:

Common questions new DIY'ers often ask are "How tall and how wide should I make my tree?" There's no definitive answer here although it can be more convenient to allow the materials you have at hand to help you decide. For example, if you choose to use strings of lights for your tree, the lengths of the light strings may help you determine the dimensions of the tree, allowing for infinite variability between tall/narrow and shorter/wider. A center pole will likely be a necessity to hold the tree up, but poles can be purchased (or made) in various lengths and of metal, wood, PVC or fiberglass materials. Some DIY'ers have even constructed gigantic megatrees using ham radio antenna towers as their center poles. Just understand that the higher you go, the more complicated, expensive and challenging it will be to construct every year.

Another frequent question is "Should I make it a 360° tree or is a half-tree good enough?" First, understand there's no good or bad -- only what you decide to do. Megatrees are generally "see-through" designs as the trees don't have actual leaves or branches; a 360° tree will allow for more lights to be seen and will appear brighter and more full than will a half (180°) tree. But the bottom line is it's entirely up to you. Make your tree match what you envision it to be.

• A Basic Megatree

Here's an example of a simple but effective 360° megatree and the general design idea the individual used to make the tree. It used 24 strings of LEDs (8 red, 8 blue, 8 green); the height and base diameter of the tree was dictated by the lengths of the LED strings (32'/string): the midpoints of the strings were looped over hooks at the top of the tree and simply zip-tied to a PVC ring base. The ring base was firmly staked to the ground in 10 places for safety. No guy wires were used to hold the tree vertical as the 24 strings (48 verticals zip-tied to the base ring) provided adequate strength to keep the tree vertical in all but 40+ mph winds. A single, 24-channel A/C controller operated the 24 LED strings around the perimeter of the tree. The topper star added another 2' onto the center pole and several short sections of white lights were wrapped around the pole. The topper star and pole used a separate 16-channel A/C controller. The center pole was made of four, 4' fiberglass sections of military surplus tent poles taped together with duct tape. The controllers were placed inside the base ring. The tree was easy to animate, fairly easy to assemble every year (2 persons required), and storage was easy. The complete tree and topper stood about 18' tall. Megatrees are not inexpensive displays to make because the cost of lights alone adds up rather quickly: if a good-quality LED light string costs only $12.50 each, 24 of them is $300 -- and the controllers and construction materials add onto that quickly, too. But for a centerpiece of a light display, a megatree can't be beat.