47 Ideas To Make Money for Christmas: Quick & Easy Ways That Work
Christmas time is right around the corner, and if you’re like most people, you’re probably looking for the best ways to bring in some extra income.
Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered!
In this blog post, I’ll share a bunch of fast, easy ideas that will help you make money for Christmas.
So whether you need to buy presents or just want to have a little extra spending money, these tips will help!
This post is for general informational and educational purposes only. You can read the full disclaimer for more information.
Christmas is a time for giving
Christmas is a super exciting time of year, but also can be a little stressful when you start thinking about all the money you need to spend. Christmas gifts, food, travel…it all adds up!
The average person spends between $800 – $900 Christmas shopping. And for parents, they typically spend $270 per child. So in a family with 4 children, that’s over $1000, just on the kids! (source)
The sooner you can start planning and saving for Christmas, the better off you’ll be. But we know that’s not always possible.
So if you find yourself a little short on cash this holiday season, don’t worry! I’m here to help with some of the easiest ways to make money for Christmas.
I’ve sorted the list into service-based, work-from-home, and creative ideas so there’s something for everyone! The best part is, that most of these can be done as a side hustle or in your spare time. So you can still have your full-time job and enjoy quality time with family and friends.
Not to mention, the good thing about all of these ideas is that you can make money in 30 days or less!
Let’s get started!
How to Make Money for Christmas – Service Based Ideas:
1. Work in retail. Get a side job at a retail store that you shop at frequently. As an employee, you may get a discount which will save you money as well.
2. Uber or Lyft. With the holiday parties and events, there will be plenty of people needing a designated driver. You can make some extra cash and help people out at the same time!
3. Grubhub, DoorDash, or Uber Eats. If you don’t want to drive people around maybe you can just transport their food. You can make your own schedule and deliver food when it’s convenient for you. Out of the 3, Uber Eats seems to have the best pay.
4. Consulting services. If you have expertise in an area offer an hour call or video chat to help others out for a fee. This is great if you work in marketing, social media, web design, etc.
5. Write blog articles. Content creators are always in demand. If you can write well, offer your services to help businesses with their blog posts or website content. A mid-level freelance writer can make about $75 – $100 per blog post. (source)
6. Dog boarding. If you have the space in your home and love animals, this is a great way to make some extra money. Boarding dogs can range from $20 for daycare and $45 for overnight care. Luxury accommodations can cost $84 for the day and up to $125 for the night (source). You can also choose to just offer dog walking and charge between $20 – $30 for one-half an hour.
7. Coaching services. You could do one-on-one coaching if you have a lot of knowledge in a certain area, or are super passionate about something. You could also offer group coaching sessions if you’re good at organizing and motivating people. By trading your time for service you can charge more than if you were to create an online course.
8. Pick up extra nursing shifts. Agencies like Intelycare and CareRev offer flexible scheduling. You can set the search filters for assignments of a certain dollar amount. Plus choose the location you want to stay in. And they both pay weekly! I made around $9,000 in just two months using Intelycare!
9. Become a preceptor. This is perfect if you’re a nurse practitioner. Sites like NPHub can pay up to $3,000 per month (source). Even if you’re not a nurse consider precepting in your field.
10. Video editing. This is a great skill set to have, experts can charge between $60 – $100/hr for their services. You can edit things like wedding videos, vlogs, business promos, and more.
For the rest of us, you can take a quick course on video editing and then sell your service on Fiverr this course on Udemy, or this course on Linkedin. And as a beginner, you could edit videos for Youtubers and charge anywhere from $25 – $45/hr. (source)
11. Proofreading. If you have an eye for detail and can find errors easily, this is the job for you! You can easily work from home and manage all your other responsibilities. Upwork or Fiverr are a good places to start offering your proofreading services.
12. Short-term project management. If you have experience in project management, offer your services to help businesses with small projects or one-time tasks. This could be anything from organizing an event to helping with a website launch.
13. Party planning. If you’re a mom I’m sure you’ve put together a ton of parties. Offer to throw a party for other people! You can charge by the hour or by the project. And this could be anything from kids’ birthday parties to bachelorette parties.
14. Make money sewing. If you’re crafty and have a sewing machine, offer to make custom clothes, Halloween costumes, or do alterations. You can sell your designs on Etsy or at local flea markets.
15. Sell food. This is a great option if you like to cook. You could sell baked goods, jams, pickles, or other specialty foods. You could also sell your food at local farmers’ markets or craft fairs. Check out your state’s requirements for food preparation and labeling.
16. Tutoring. Are you good at math, science, or technology? Consider becoming a tutor and helping others out. You can set your own rates and work as much or as little as you want.
17. Translation services. Do you speak more than one language? You could offer your services as a translator. This is a good way to make money if you’re bilingual. Or if you know American Sign Language you could offer interpretation services.
18. Rent out something you have. This is an easy way to leverage something you already own or have access to. A parking space, a room as a short-term rental for a company like travel nurse housing, or ad space on your blog.
19. Personal training. Make house calls to avoid setting up a brick-and-mortar business. You could also offer virtual personal training. You can create a quick workout plan to sell or a more comprehensive program. Your existing social media platforms are a great way to market your services.
20. Lessons. You can offer music, swimming, cooking, or any other type of lesson. You could hold the lessons in your home, at a park, or even online.
21. House or Airbnb cleaning. If you don’t mind getting a little dirty, offer to clean houses or Airbnb rentals. You’ll find jobs on Housekeeper.com, TaskRabbit, or even through a local cleaning company.
22. Be a tour guide. If you love your city and enjoy showing people around, this is the perfect gig for you. You can give walking tours, food tours, or even ghost tours. Offering group tours will allow you to charge more money.
23. Makeup services. If you’re a makeup artist, offer your services for weddings, proms, or other special occasions. You can also offer to do makeup for photo shoots, music videos, or other events. Taking your service mobile will allow you to make house calls and avoid renting a space. If you’re also able to provide hair services, you can package your services together and make good money.
24. Resume help. Assist other nurses with their resumes. Joining My Perfect Resume will help you to write and edit the resumes. You could also help with job placement or interview coaching.
25. Do people’s taxes. This is a great seasonal job but you can make some good money if you’re organized and efficient. Gather up some clients from your neighborhood or online and offer to do their taxes for a fee.
It can be a lot of work but if you charge by the form or hour, you can make some decent money. Of course, you’ll need to stay up to date on the tax laws so you can do them correctly. Put the cash in your bank account to save for your Christmas shopping or get started with your shopping early.
How to Make Money for Christmas – Work from home or Online ideas:
26. Sell clothes on Poshmark. It’s free to list an item for sale. After your item sells, for sales under $15, the fee is a flat rate of $2.95. For sales above $15, the fee is 20% and you keep 80%.
27. Complete surveys. Survey sites like Survey junkie will pay you for your opinion. Most online surveys take less than 20 minutes to complete and you can earn anywhere from $3 to $10 per hour. Or sign up with Swagbucks which pays you for watching videos, taking surveys, and more. Get paid cash or with gift cards.
28. Virtual assistant. You can do a number of things as a virtual assistant. You could answer customer service questions, do data entry, schedule appointments, or anything else a business may need. There are a number of companies that will hire virtual assistants (VA).
Check out Remote.co and Upwork for jobs. It’s also a good idea to join VA Facebook groups. You’ll find a ton of resources and support. The average pay for a VA is $20.92 (source). But depending on the industry VAs can make upwards of $78/hr.
29. Social media manager. A social media manager is different from a virtual assistant, in that you will primarily manage social media accounts. Small businesses and blogs are always looking for help with their social media.
You could manage Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest accounts. Do a quick search on Instagram and Facebook for job leads. You’re sure to find a number of businesses in need of assistance. You can also search for social media jobs on Indeed. The average pay for a social media manager is $60,000 per year (source).
30. Have a yard sale on Facebook marketplace. Take advantage of the fact that people are already on Facebook and advertise your yard sale there. Use caution when giving out your address or just be sure to meet in a public place.
31. Sell your nursing books. You can sell your books using TextbookRush or BookDeal. BookDeal makes it easy to find the highest offer plus they offer free shipping. You could also sell your books on Amazon. Or use eBay auction to get the most money for your books.
32. Sell some of your kid’s toys on eBay. If you have kids, chances are you have a bunch of toys that they no longer play with. Gather up these items and list them on eBay. You can also sell kid’s clothes, shoes, and baby gear. EBay has two fees an insertion fee when you list an item and a final value fee, which doesn’t include a third-party processing fee. You can set up an eBay store and get 250 zero insertion fee listings.
33. Sell your study guides. You can rewrite your notes and sell them as study guides. You can really make them look nice by adding graphics, charts, and images. You could also create a study guide for a specific exam, like the NCLEX or HESI. Course Hero is a great place to offer these.
34. Sell print-on-demand items. You can design and sell t-shirts, mugs, tote bags, and more using a site like Etsy, Redbubble, or Society Six. Consider creating holiday designs because they sell well during the Christmas season. Print-on-demand items are great because you don’t have to worry about inventory or shipping. Just design and sell.
35. Promote affiliate products. If you have a blog or social media following, you can promote affiliate products. This is when you promote someone else’s product and receive a commission on every sale you make. Simply place affiliate links on your site or social media. Amazon Associates is a popular affiliate program. But there are also a ton of other options, like CJ Affiliate, ShareASale, and Impact.
36. Sell hair extensions. You can buy hair extensions from a wholesaler and then resell them as smaller bundles. Instagram is perfect for locating hair vendors. You can buy a list of trusted vendors which will save you a ton of time. You could also then use Instagram to market your hair extension business.
37. Start a dropping business. You can sell products that are trending or appeal to a certain demographic. For example, you could sell women’s fashion, phone cases, or beauty products. You don’t have to worry about designing or stocking new products. You can simply accept customer orders and the supplier will ship them directly to the customer.
38. Pick up a side job. Many customer service jobs allow you to work from home answering calls and helping people. You could work as a customer service representative, appointment setter, telemarketer, or data entry specialist. You can find many of these jobs on Indeed, Upwork, and FlexJobs.
39. Work as a transcriptionist. Quicktate is a beginner-friendly transcription company. You can transcribe legal notes, insurance matters, medical reports, and more. They pay per word. The pay differs depending on what type of transcribing you do i.e. general vs medical transcription.
40. Sell photos. If you’re good at photography, you can sell your photos. Many people are looking for high-quality stock photos. You can submit your photos to sites like iStockPhoto and Shutterstock. When someone buys one of your photos, you’ll receive a commission. Or sell your photos on Stocksy or Alamy.
41. Sell graphics. If you’re good at graphic design, you can sell your graphics. You can create logos, social media covers, and more. And sell them on Creative Fabrica. You could also sell your graphic design services on Fiverr.
42. Monetize your social media accounts. If you have an Instagram or Youtube account with a decent number of followers, you could monetize your account. You can do this by promoting products, brands, or services. Or you could sell your own products or services.
How to Make Money for Christmas – Creative ideas:
43. Mystery shopping. You can get paid to shop and dine out. And all you have to do is visit the business and take some notes. You can sign up as a mystery shopper with companies like Market Force, BestMark, Intellishop, and Sinclair Customer Metrics.
44. Sell rare or vintage finds on Etsy. If you have rare or vintage items, you can sell them on Etsy. People are always looking for unique items. Check out this article for other creative Etsy business ideas. They charge a listing fee of $0.20 USD for each item that you list for sale. Or use this link and get 40 FREE listings.
45. Do odd jobs. Try shoveling snow, raking leaves, Christmas light installation, or take down. People are always looking for help with these things and are willing to pay!
46. Look for unclaimed money. You can search for unclaimed money in your state. This is money that people have forgotten about or didn’t even know they had. You could be owed money from an old utility deposit, uncashed paycheck, or a variety of other sources.
47. Make money thifting. You can make money by shopping at thrift stores and reselling the items. You can find some great deals on clothes, shoes, books, household items, and more. You could also offer a styling service where you put together outfits for people.
Bonus: Ways to save money on your Christmas expenses
Ibotta. This is a cashback app that you can use when shopping in-store or online. You simply sign up to access special offers then shop and click to activate offers. You can link your bank account to withdraw your easy money!
Swagbucks. You can earn points (called SB) by taking surveys, watching videos, online shopping, and more. And you can redeem your points for gift cards or PayPal cash. They often have special sign-up bonuses too. For example, right now you can earn a $25 bonus just for signing up.
Rakuten. Cashback websites like Rakuten give you money back for shopping online. All you have to do is sign up and then shop at your favorite retail stores through their site. They’ll then deposit the cash back into your Rakuten account. And you can redeem your points for PayPal cash or free gift cards. They also make it easy to save with daily deals, coupons, and promo codes too!
Credit card rewards. If you have credit cards with rewards, you can use your points to get cash back or gift cards. For example, the Chase Freedom Unlimited® card gives you unlimited points that you can redeem for cash back or gift cards. And the Citi® Double Cash Card allows you to earn cash back on every purchase that you make. This is free money that you can use to offset your Christmas expenses!
Join a Christmas club. This idea is more for saving Christmas money than making money. But it’s a great way to ensure that you have the cash available for Christmas expenses. Simply put away a little bit of money each week or month into a savings account. Then, you’ll have the money available when you need it. Your local credit union or bank may offer a Christmas club account.
Giving cash for a Christmas gift?
If you’re considering giving cash as a Christmas gift, there are a few things to think about. First, is the person on your list someone who would prefer cash? If they’re not, then it’s probably best to give them a different gift.
Second, how much cash should you give? A good rule of thumb is to give an amount that you would feel comfortable receiving yourself.
Finally, how will you give the cash? You could put it in a card, give it as a gift card, or even hide it in a fun game or activity. Whatever you do, make sure the cash is secure so it doesn’t get lost.
How to decide on which idea to try first?
There are a few things to consider when deciding which idea to try first. First, think about what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing. If you’re good at crafting, then selling items on Etsy could be a great option. If you enjoy shopping, then reselling items from thrift stores could be a good fit.
Second, consider how much time you have to dedicate to making money. If you only have a few hours to spare, then online surveys might be a good option. But if you have more time, then you could try something like starting a Christmas club.
Finally, think about how much money you need to make. If you need to make a lot of money quickly, then online surveys might not be the best option. But if you’re looking to make a little extra money, then picking up an extra shift or working as a virtual assistant could be a good option.
But who’s to say you have to only do one? Combine a few ideas and see what works best for you! You may be able to make a bit more money by trying a few different things.
No matter which option you choose, be sure to research it thoroughly before getting started. That way, you’ll know what to expect and you can avoid any scams.
In sum, how to make money for Christmas
So there you have it, 47 ideas on how to make money for Christmas. No matter what your situation is, there’s sure to be an option on this list that will work for you. So get started today and make some extra cash for the holidays!
Do you have any other ideas on how to make money for Christmas? Share them in the comments below!
