1. "We had the art department get an artificial tree — a metal tree that was pretty substantial, about 10 feet tall."

2. "Then we had to design some sort of device that would lift it. We actually hung a chain motor, which is how you raise and lower scenery, to lift the tree."

3. "Next, we had to figure out how to make it spin. We built a rotating motor platform that we would attach to that chain motor. Then we had to modify the tree. We had to support it with a steel shaft, because the tree was pretty heavy. We got it to where it could hook it to our rotating motor device, so we could vary the speed and make it any speed we wanted."

4. "Then we had to figure out how a tree that's lifted and spinning could still be plugged into electricity [to keep the lights illuminated]." The spinning would invariably twist and break any electrical cord. "We did a little research, and came up with this device called a rotating commentator. It's a device that actually spins, and it's filled with mercury, so it keeps the electrical connection. They use them on rotating platforms, like on game shows, when you have to power something that rotates. So we mounted that into our rotating motor piece, and connected our tree to that."

5. "Next, we had to balance the tree, so it wouldn't go flopping around when it spins. We ended up tethering it to the floor with a restraining cable attached to a mountain-climbing swivel on the bottom. It worked very well."

6. "Finally, we had to make sure that all of it ran quietly enough while we were taping. We insulated some of the equipment, but we also had a really quiet motor, which helped a lot."

To say that Wahl and his team sound like Hollywood versions of MacGyver — able to improvise things at a moment’s notice — would not be an understatement.

"We engineer stuff all the time. They [give us something] and we always try to figure out the best way to make it work," Wahl explains. "What's great about this job is that they put a challenge to you, you take something that you've done in the past, find something different and just keep doing it. You're inventing stuff all the time. We try to make magic every day."