It’s the holiday season and a great time to put a little extra jingle in the piggy bank.
Here are some side gig jobs that are (mostly) specific to the holiday season and are not typically found in other lists about side jobs.
For instance, if you’re tired of seeing suggestions to rent out a room in your house to strangers, then don’t worry, you won’t find that here. I’ve also excluded jobs that require intense training, drop shipping, or affiliate jobs that require a lot of set up. I excluded dog walking because it shows up on a lot of lists but it is an option if you live near pet owners. Starting a blog is great, but not a good way to get cash right this moment.
The list below serves as a way to potentially start a business, make some quick gift money or catch up on bills in the new year.
But First – Avoid Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
Don’t get me started on the pitfalls of multi-level marketing, aka direct sales, aka network marketing, aka pyramid schemes. This season, you will be seeing lots of promos from your Facebook friends that come from various pyramid companies – essential oils, secret whitening toothpaste, makeup, candles, scented wax, special water, etc…
Times are hard, but it would actually be better to get a minimum wage side job than to give your soul to MLM. No offense, but there’s a reason that most Facebook job-posting groups banish all plugs for MLM products.
Here is my ANTI-sales pitch for MLM:
- How would you like to make a few people rich off your free labor?
- How would you like to work for less than $1 per hour and for 16 hours a day, every day?
- Have fun alienating your friends and family by upselling them through guilt and offering little in return?
- Work from the ruined comfort of your home?
- Turn potential customers into mortal enemies by pretending to be their friend at church?
- Tank your marriage by secretly racking up credit card debt to meet your monthly minimum quota?
- Be left with tons of product that cost you three months’ rent?
I know there are some who succeed, but I’ve seen a lot of people get burned on MLM, myself included.
If you think about buying an appliance or sweater in terms of how many hours of work it will take to get the product, then imagine how many hours of MLM work it will take earning only 15-30% commission at best and working for ZERO dollars hourly. It doesn’t make cents at all. (See what I did there?)
As you read the list of holiday side gigs below, bear in mind the VPH (value per hour) and your MVA (most valuable activities). Be sure to factor in supply costs including any possible shipping and packaging costs.
Most importantly, have fun and do what you love!
#1 Rustic Painted Wood Signs
I cannot stress enough how big these are right now. If you enjoy painting, stenciling, or refurbishing found pieces, you might enjoy making some of these stylish signs. Here is an example of them on Etsy. They are wooden boards where you paint a word or phrase and they are hung up in homes or shops. They can be sold through Etsy, eBay, Craigslist, local markets/shops, or even through a Facebook group. Be sure to calculate your shipping charges accurately so that you aren’t spending your profit mailing these out.
#2 Scan Memories by becoming a Photo Digitizer
A lot of people have storage boxes full of photos just waiting to be scanned by the right person. Many people don’t have the time or equipment but they’d like to make photo books and need their photos digitized. Scanning them prevents loss from fire or water damage. You will need a good scanner, storage drives, gloves, a computer, and your own storage bins or organization. Pos ads on Craigslist (be safe!) and in job posting groups.
#3 Gift Baskets
Lots of people need those last minute gifts! Believe it or not, you can make nice gift baskets from items at the Dollar Tree. But you can also use overstock items and/or chocolates, candies and other specialties. Check out stores like Big Lots, too. Use shrinkwrap and bows for that finishing touch. Think about different themes like “movie night” or relaxation. Sell at markets, Craigslist, Facebook, and more.
#4 Resume Writing
If you can craft a winning resume that hiring managers are looking for then you can start making money right now. You can make around $30 and up per completed, emailed resume, and decide if you want to include a free cover letter or charge an additional fee. Set yourself apart by showcasing why your resume will get a foot in the door – maybe you can offer to send it into the hiring manager. Pay attention to costs such as resume paper, ink, and envelopes if you are printing them. Ease the customer’s mind by not collecting a fee until they approve and send an image of the resume with a watermark. When they approve and pay, send the resume.
#5 Snow Removal
This requires an attachment on a truck. But once you have it, people will be flagging you down after a snowfall. This job will probably take place in the early and late hours. Consider other wintry outdoor needs. You can always shovel snow by hand, too.
#6 Sprouts and Microgreens
These are SO expensive in grocery stores that it’s worth a shot growing countertop sprouts and selling them.
#7 Edit Photos/Images
You don’t need to be a Photoshop expert. Just go to Picmonkey.com and try the different functions.
#8 Health/Fitness Motivator, Meal Planner
If you have a history of being a health and fitness buff and you’ve got an organized meal plan, you can duplicate this for others. Honestly, you can avoid most certifications out there. Either you can demonstrate healthy living or not. Most certifications are just non-accredited mills. Look for actual fitness accreditation if you are doing personal training, though. Avoid giving any advice that could be construed as medical advice or a diagnosis and stick to personal motivation. It would be prudent to get insurance for coaching because there is some liability here.
#9 Team Color Scarves – No Sew
Buy yards of fleece in various football game colors. Cut. Tie. Here are the Instructions.
Alternative method. Cut two pieces. Use ironing hem in the middle and leave the pieces open. Then fringe the bottoms and tie (optional). You can actually use a hair flat iron to crimp the middle of the scarf for the no-sew hem if you have iron-hem. Here are the Instructions.
This doesn’t take very long and some of it can be done while watching Netflix.
#10 Aerobics Class Leader
I highly encourage anyone who has an affinity for exercise or dance to take steps to become an instructor. Benefits: On-demand side gig money, keeps you fit but you get paid and oh yeah, you don’t have to pay for exercise! This can be a lifelong side job. Talk to a local fitness group about what they need and their recommended certification. Like yoga? Why not get certified while you practice?
#11 Cleaning
Once you see what a straightforward (and even therapeutic) job that cleaning is, you may even scale up to a full-time business. Decide what you want to clean and how detailed you want to be. Charging by room seems to work well. Regular vacuum cleaners work just fine. Make sure you don’t price yourself out of business since you will also be driving and buying supplies. It’s wise to get insured especially if you plan on doing this more than once. You will be competing against commercial cleaners who have a reputation and holiday promos so see if you can set yourself apart with something different – perhaps using natural cleaning products, or using essential oils for a “spa” like experience.
#12 Organizer
The holidays get people to think about their storage space for a few reasons. 1) When they pull out decorations and see all the junk they have accumulated. 2) Memories and sentiment cause people to “go within” their house the same way they may be reflecting on things within themselves. 3) Time to donate stuff! and 4) New Years’ makes people think about remaking their lives. This is the ultimate time to capitalize on your organization skills whether it be home storage or time management.
#13 Make Wreaths
Make different kinds of wreaths by watching YouTube tutorials. Here is an easy Dollar Tree DIY wreath. You can often make wreaths from found objects or thrift store items, too.
#14 Chop Wood
Many people are switching to fireplaces and woodstoves when possible and could use some logs! Remove fallen trees for people and use the wood. Chop away and get ripped like George Foreman did. Chopping wood was his favorite exercise. Safety first: do not neglect to wear goggles!
#15 Petsitting
Vacations and travel sometimes bring unexpected arrangements for beloved pets. If you have references and can show that you are an upstanding animal caretaker, then this job can be a fun side gig.
What about you?
What was your favorite job on the list? Have you tried any of them or were they mostly new to you? Did I leave some good, non-typical seasonal side gigs out? Sound off and let me know in the comments below!
For those of us that create jewelry, crochet, knit, or sew, we can sell our creations online.
Everybody likes jewelry of some sort or another, even paracord bracelets in holiday colors.
Knitted or crocheted scarves, hats, mittens, afghans, throws, and baby sets are always a hit.
Some like decorating the holidays with tree skirts, stockings to hang on their mantles, and table runners. There are also mug rugs, scented sachets, even a chair caddy for someone’s favorite recliner or a walker or wheelchair caddy for the Elders in our families.
All of these can be made either for the holiday or for year round use.
Hey Meadow, Thanks for the article!
I do want to take a second thought and let you know I think you are wrong when it comes to MLMs. No, I’m not involved in one, but what I will tell you is I was involved in an MLM. Instead of presenting facts about them you just deride them, which is sad. I personally know more than 10 “normal” people who have made an MLMa full time business that they more than live on. One of them started because they were dirt poor and needed money. They have 8 kids and are making a wonderful (more than 10k a month) paycheck from their MLM and they didn’t get in “in the ground floor” but more than 20 years after the company was founded. Also take a look at people who write reputable books like Robert Kiyosaki who write Rich Dad, Poor Dad and are very favorable to MLMs and passive income. Just something for you to consider. Blessings!
I know a few people making good money from MLMs too. I have friends selling oils, supplements, and food through network marketing who make a living from it.
However…
I think they are in the small, small minority. There are many others who spend a lot of money they really can’t spare to get involved and never make back even their original investment. I believe that getting into an MLM for short-term holiday money would not work out well.
Very fun and practical start and to the point. Takes the anxiety out of overthinking for those who want a seasonal side hustle!
1. The scanning business could be enhanced beyond just photos. Some people have lots of books that could benefit from being scanned skillfully. Just a few examples come to mind: rare books, very old and fragile books, books that have never been released in Kindle or any other ebook format, preparedness collection books that could usefully scanned onto high capacity flash drives, reference books that libraries do not check out — but which could be scanned with portable gear inside the library. As long as the intended purpose is for one’s private use (and NOT to sell a zillion copies), that should probably keep from running afoul of copyright laws.
There are both retail scanners on the market AND DIY scanning systems — for which there is a worldwide community of scanner enthusiasts ranging from utter newbies to highly experienced experts, all of whom congregate here:
http://www.diybookscanner.org/
This is a service that has uses not only around gift-giving times, but also year around. Your choice.
2. Regarding the sprouts and microgreens business, there is a niche that I don’t know of anyone trying to fill. Because both are many times more nutritious than the mature vegetable plants, looking for ways to preserve that nutrition seems worthwhile. Tammy Gangloff, the creator of
https://www.dehydrate2store.com
and some excellent books on dehydrating foods on Amazon.com, mentions that where canning preserves about half the nutrition of fresh mature plants, dehydration preserves about 90%. If you had, or could acquire, a good dehydrator, a reliable vacuum sealer, some mylar bags and oxygen absorbers, and the knowledge of how to put that together, there ought to be an untapped customer base of people willing to pay to have their (or your) sprouts (grown in water) and microgreens (grown in soil) dehydrated and expertly bagged for long term food storage. Whether you might want to do this during prime gift-giving seasons or year around is up to you.
In both cases above, there is a significant learning curve involved, and equipment acquisition issue. If you’re a total newbie in such ventures, you probably wouldn’t have time to polish your expertise in time for this holiday season, but the longer term prospects should be reasonably profitable.
–Lewis
Most people support the police state until they become a victim of it.
What exactly does this comment have to do with the article? I wish everyone could learn from Thumper’s mom’s advice: “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say NUTHIN at all.”
Another side gig is picking up pecans and other nuts! Some pecan tree owners would give you a percentage of their bounty if you would pick them up off the ground, and even better if you shell them! I don’t know when the last time you bought a package of pecan halves (or even pieces) in a grocery store, but they’re made of gold. If I had some property, I would plant it in pecan trees for my children’s inheritance! Selling shelled pecans can be very profitable!
I bake low carb gluten and sugar free desserts for my non-baking friends during the holiday season. They get to stay on their prefered diet and get a little extra cash.
Daisy, I absolutely agree with you. It is NOT the right thing to do to make extra money for Christmas.
I had a pretty good MLM experience. I made my starter kit investment back more than 100 times over during my more than three years working the MLM. Many people make less money than I did. Some people make more. It’s certainly not for everyone.
I had my reasons for giving the MLM up, none due to the MLM itself. But writing a book was the best money maker that I had ever done, and it’s more consistent income than an MLM which was up and down depending on the month.
Running a blog though is probably the most rewarding experience (next to raising my kids) that I’ve ever had. It is a blessing to be able to touch other people’s lives in that way.