Sam Altman teases ChatGPT Christmas Easter egg that turns your selfie into a Santa message: How it works
Posted on: Dec 21, 2025 11:36 IST | Posted by: Livemint
OpenAI chief executive director Sam Altman has precondition ChatGPT users an unexpected yuletide handle, hinting at a secret festive feature that turns a simple emoji into a personalised video experience.
A teaser on X sparks curiosity
On Saturday, Altman posted a cryptic message on X, prompting users to experiment with ChatGPT using just one emoji. The post quickly caught attention, with users discovering that sending a gift emoji unlocks a special Christmas-themed interaction.
How the emoji trick works
When users prompt ChatGPT with the 🎁 emoji, the chatbot responds by asking them to upload or take a selfie. Once this step is completed, ChatGPT passes the request to Sora, OpenAI’s video generation tool.
Sora then creates a short, personalised Christmas video. The content is tailored using information ChatGPT has learned from a user’s past interactions, resulting in a customised festive message.
Santa decides if you were good or bad
The generated video features Santa Claus, who delivers a playful verdict on the user’s behaviour over the year. In some cases, Santa praises the user and presents a gift they are likely to enjoy. In others, he jokingly declares them “naughty” and offers something deliberately undesirable.
Users do not have any creative control over the final video. The style, storyline and outcome are entirely determined by Sora.
One video per user, for now
At present, the feature appears limited to a single video per account. Starting a new chat session and repeating the emoji prompt simply returns the same video rather than generating a fresh one.
Some users have also reported that other festive emojis, including 🎅 and 🎄, trigger the same Easter egg.
A festive experiment from OpenAI
The playful feature highlights OpenAI’s ongoing experiments with blending chat, image and video generation into more interactive experiences. While clearly seasonal, the surprise has added a light-hearted touch to ChatGPT just in time for Christmas.
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