The holidays are quickly approaching, and while many people tend to spend a lot of money, have you ever considered the opportunity to make extra money over the holidays?
With gifts to buy, travel to do, and money to donate, the holidays are a busy and expensive time of year for most of us. Take advantage of this by committing to a short-term side hustle.
Using the holiday season to make extra money means you can pay off debt faster and save money for the future.
Here are 8 ideas to make extra money during the holiday season.
1) Event staff for holiday party
The holidays are a busy time for parties. Companies and individuals all hold holiday parties and the demand is tough on caterers.
Reach out to local caterers and hotels to see if they are hiring any temporary holiday staff. You could set up events, serve food, be a bartender, or even a DJ.
As an extra plus, many of these positions will tip very well on top of an hourly pay.
2) Pet and house sit
One ridiculously easy holiday side hustle is to house sit while people are traveling.
Most people like to have someone at least stop by their house while they’re traveling for more than a few days. You might get the mail, water plants, or adjust the thermostat.
Pet sitting is another service in high demand during the holidays. If you love animals, take advantage of the chance to get paid to watch pets.
As a plus, many regular pet sitters in the area will also be traveling, so you can charge a premium for your services.
To find these types of jobs, you can easily create a Care.com and a Rover.com account (for free!) to offer your services.
3) Shovel snow
Live in a snowy area? Offer to shovel or snow blow around your neighborhood.
From my experience, people are more than happy to pay for this service, especially if they are older. It is a very physically demanding task, but if you’re young and able bodied, you can make money and get a workout in at the same time.
4) Work part-time in retail
Nearly all retailers are looking for part-time help during their busiest season of the year.
Start looking now for part-time retail jobs. Black Friday will be a huge opportunity to make some serious cash.
If you’re really lucky, you could even find a part-time, short-term gig that allows you to use their employee discount and get all your holiday shopping done for cheap!
5) Create holiday cards
Have a knack for creative design? Offer to create holiday cards for friends or family.
This might take some time, but you’ll have the convenience of making money at home.
The best part about creating holiday cards is that you could easily turn it into a permanent side hustle by opening an Etsy shop or graphic design business.
6) Clean homes
It might not be glamorous, but with many people having guests come into town, they will be hiring for cleaning services.
If you have a free Saturday morning and a few cleaning supplies, you won’t find it difficult to find work. And you might be surprised what people will pay for in-home cleaning.
Not a fan of cleaning? Offer to help a family organize. There are a lot of families that are extremely busy with both parents working, kids to take care of, pets to take care of, and more. If you can offer to help them get organized or even just help run some errands it can be a big win for them during the holiday season.
7) Work overtime at your 9-5
Chances are, your office will be pretty empty during the holidays. Are there end-of-the-year projects you can finish up at your job? If you’re available to work, ask around to see if there is any opportunity to work overtime.
If your job is slower during the holidays, check other departments in the office. Many departments, like accounting, consider this to be one of their busiest times of year. Ask if you can provide any assistance. As a plus, you’ll show you are taking initiative in the workplace and could learn a new skill.
8) Take holiday pictures
Lastly, if you’re already a skilled photographer or just starting out, advertise your photography services to families in need of portraits.
If you’ve ever considered photography as a long-term side hustle, getting started with taking holiday portraits and pictures is a great idea to ease yourself into it.
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Plan ahead now to make money over the holidays. Taking on a temporary side hustle is a great option if you’re not yet ready to commit to working a permanent side hustle, like blogging.
Whether you’re just looking to add some extra cushion to your holiday fund, pay off a portion of debt, or save, take advantage of the opportunities available during the holiday season.
Other Ideas for Making Extra Money
Last year Kristi wrote a post with 15 ideas to make money for the holiday season. These ideas are just as relevant this year!
We also have our epic list of 50+ ways to make money from home.
If you’re looking for quick, easy ways to make money at home check out these 7 websites and apps for making extra side cash.
If you’re interested in blogging for money we have a guide for getting started.
Finally, here’s a super easy way to make an extra $25 today.
What have you done to make extra money? Is making extra money one of your goals this holiday season?
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interesting ideas!!!
Thanks, Giulia!
I’ve done a fair number of these to make extra money during the holidays. There are so many opportunities out there for this time of year, not that there’s a shortage at other times, that it doesn’t make sense not to take advantage if you have the need or spare time.
Right? There are so many opportunities, it’s crazy!
Great ideas! Many retailers are looking for temp help with the busyness of the holidays.
I used to bake my husband’s coworkers Christmas cookies for them…this actually paid really well.
What an amazing side hustle! Getting paid well to bake cookies for a gig? I’ll have to see if I can make that work somehow :)
Love the idea about cleaning homes for others. Lots of that type of work available this time of year. Same with event staffing for parties. I have a friend that does an annual holiday party and pays some teenagers very well for coat check and waitstaff work.
It’s kind of crazy to find out how much some of these one-time gigs pay!
Nice list of ideas to make money during the holiday season. #2 is ridiculously easy to do. You also point a cool thing in that you can actually charge a premium during the holiday season.
Thanks, Michael! Many easy side projects to make money…now to find the time!
Great ideas Rachel! Good luck with your journey in paying off those student loans. Mine were a beast hanging around my neck for too long!
Thanks, Andy! Hoping to get rid of those loans soon!
It’s so true about working retail. I would add Amazon to be on that list, as they are hiring like crazy for the holiday season and it’s a fantastic company to work for (financial wise, I don’t think they have the best work-life balance culture).
I wanted to work for Amazon but alas, they’re not hiring in the city that I’m currently in. Darn. I was looking forward to working for a company who I believe is going to take over the world, ha.
What a great suggestion! Amazon would be a great opportunity for some part-time work! Thanks!
You can never go wrong working retail during the holiday season. I’ve done it a couple of times. Its easy money.
I used to shovel snow as a kid…not sure my back would like it nowadays =) I think holiday photography can be a good side hustle. My wife’s friend took our family’s holiday pics for free to build a portfolio to show prospective customers. She did a great job…maybe we should hire her this year…
Nice one here Rachel! I especially like the shovel snow one although not sure it’ll be one for down under ;)
A cool one I’ve looked at is user testing for websites, which could be a fun one
Thanks for sharing and hope everyone hustles some more cash!