Christmas Card Generator
Generate personalized, maximalist Christmas card images using AI. Researches a person, finds their photos, creates a playful Xmas message, and generates custom AI images with Gemini 2.5 Flash for unique holiday greetings.
Last updated
December 4, 2025
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Key Takeaways
- Personalized AI Christmas cards - Provide a name and description, and the workflow researches the person, writes a custom message, and generates unique card images
- Gemini 2.5 Flash for image generation - Four different AI-generated maximalist Christmas card images are produced so you can pick your favorite
- Human-in-the-loop photo selection - You approve which photo of the recipient gets used as reference before image generation
- Multiple AI models for variety - GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 Mini, and GPT-5 Mini each generate a different image prompt, giving you diverse creative results
- Cloud-hosted results - Final images are uploaded to Cloudinary for easy sharing
What This Workflow Does
This Needle workflow takes a person's name and a short description as input, then uses AI agents to research the person online, find their photos, craft a personalized Christmas message, and generate four unique maximalist Christmas card images using Gemini 2.5 Flash. You review and select a photo of the recipient during the process, and the final card images are uploaded to Cloudinary.
Use cases:
- Sending personalized holiday cards to clients, investors, or partners
- Creating unique AI-generated Christmas cards for team members
- Generating custom holiday visuals without design tools or skills
How It Works
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Manual trigger | You provide a name and description of the recipient |
| 2. AI research | GPT-4.1 searches the web to gather detailed information about the person |
| 3. Image search | A separate GPT-4.1 agent finds photos of the person online |
| 4. Photo review | You select which photo to use via a human-in-the-loop approval step |
| 5. Photo download | The approved photo is fetched as base64 data |
| 6. Message writing | GPT-4.1 crafts a playful, personalized Christmas message based on the person's description |
| 7. Prompt generation | Four parallel AI agents (GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 Mini, GPT-5 Mini) each create a unique maximalist Christmas image prompt |
| 8. Image generation | Each prompt plus the reference photo is sent to the Gemini 2.5 Flash API to generate a card image |
| 9. Cloud upload | All four generated images are uploaded to Cloudinary |
Workflow Nodes
| Node | Role |
|---|---|
| Manual Trigger | Accepts person name and description as input |
| AI Research Agent (GPT-4.1) | Searches and browses the web to build a detailed profile of the person |
| AI Image Finder (GPT-4.1) | Searches the web for photos of the person |
| Transform | Extracts image URLs from the search results |
| Human-in-the-Loop | Lets you review and approve which photo to use |
| Filter | Passes only approved photos through |
| HTTP Request (GET) | Downloads the selected photo as base64 |
| AI Message Writer (GPT-4.1) | Writes a personalized, playful Christmas card message |
| Transform (description) | Extracts the person's description for prompt context |
| Transform (message) | Packages the personal message for prompt generation |
| Merge | Combines photo, description, and message data |
| 4x AI Prompt Generators (GPT-4.1, GPT-4.1 Mini, GPT-5 Mini) | Each generates a unique maximalist Christmas image prompt using browse_web and search_web tools |
| 4x Merge nodes | Combine each prompt with the reference photo |
| 4x HTTP Requests to Gemini API | Send prompts and photo to Gemini 2.5 Flash for image generation |
| 4x Cloudinary Uploads | Upload generated images to Cloudinary |
| 4x Transform (URL extraction) | Extract the final hosted image URLs |
Setup Instructions
- Add the workflow template to Needle
- Get a Gemini API key from Google AI Studio and add it to the four Gemini HTTP request nodes
- Optionally configure your own Cloudinary account in the upload nodes (the template includes a default unsigned upload preset)
- Enter the recipient's name and description in the manual trigger and run the workflow
Customization
| What You Can Change | How |
|---|---|
| Recipient details | Edit the name and description in the manual trigger node |
| Image style | Modify the AI prompt generator nodes to request a different style instead of maximalist (e.g., minimal, vintage, or illustrated) |
| Message tone | Edit the message writer AI prompt to change the tone from playful to formal, heartfelt, or humorous |
| Number of image variants | Remove or add prompt generator + Gemini + upload node chains to produce fewer or more card options |
| Image hosting | Replace the Cloudinary upload endpoints with your own image hosting service |
| AI models | Swap the models in the prompt generator nodes to use different AI models |
FAQ
Q: Do I need a paid Gemini API key? A: You can get a free Gemini API key from Google AI Studio. Check current usage limits on the Google AI Studio page.
Q: Why does the workflow generate four images instead of one? A: Four different AI models generate four different image prompts from the same input. This gives you variety so you can pick the result that fits best.
Q: What does the human-in-the-loop step do? A: After the AI finds photos of the recipient, the workflow pauses and lets you review each photo. You approve the one you want used as a reference in the Christmas card image.
Q: Can I use this for other holidays? A: Yes. Edit the AI prompts in the message writer and prompt generator nodes to target a different holiday or theme.
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