Decorate a Christmas Tree with a Candy Cane Cannon

I wanted to make a fun new way to decorate our Christmas tree this year, so I made a slingshot cannon that shot ornaments!
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It's Christmas time again, and I wanted to make a simple and fun holiday project. I decided to update the time-honored tradition of decorating the Christmas tree. But instead of trimming the tree, we're going to shoot ornaments at it with a slingshot cannon.  My mind initially went toward making a potato gun or air cannon, but I wanted to decorate the tree, not decimate it. I thought surgical tubing would give the right amount of power and the easiest way to get some is to buy some cheap fitness bands. After a quick trip to Lowe's for some cannon material, I quickly noticed that basic PVC unions can make a fun candy cane shape.

I broke apart the fitness bands and fitted them inside the cannon tube. I busted out the sewing machine to make a sling that would catch all of the ornaments and fire them out of the barrel. The real problem-solving came when making the trigger mechanism. I drilled a keyhole in the back of the barrel to catch a knot tied to the sling. My plan was to just slide the knot out of the keyhole to fire the ornaments. This was much harder than I thought because of the tension from the tubing, so I quickly made a rounded metal slug that would catch on the keyhole instead of the knot and make firing the cannon WAY easier. After wrapping the cannon in red duct tape to make it a true candy cane, it was ready for action.

My wife wanted a second Christmas tree for our front room and I was happy to decorate it for her. My kids and I launched ornaments, garland, mini candy canes, cotton balls, and popcorn at the tree and it was a beautiful-ish addition to our holiday decor. I hope you liked this silly Christmas project and hope that you and your family have a safe and happy holiday season!