I'm a big fan of the Teensy line of boards. The LC is only $12 from PJRC
http://www.pjrc.com/store/teensylc.html (I'm in no way affiliated, just a huge fan). Paul has done a lot of great work integrating it with Arduino. With an LC and a ring or strand of WS2812B LEDs, you can start on some really cool effects for next year.