Make more money during the holidays

Every Wednesday, we will look into different side hustles as a way to make more money. So far, we have explored

now let’s see how you can make money during the holidays.

Be it summer holidays, long weekends or Christmas, there are plenty of opportunities to make extra money if you are willing to work when the majority rests. It can be a great way to make more money on top of a day job, since you are getting the time off anyway. People are on holiday and ready to spend more. Be ready on the other side to cash in their holiday bonuses! Here are a few ideas of how you can make money during the holidays.

Work as an extra

Shops and restaurants are always hiring extra hands during the holidays. Drop your resume a few weeks before, or ask to talk to the manager. If you have a day job, clearly specify your availability for each day of the holiday (public holiday, Sundays, Christmas Eve, etc) and keep in mind there is often extra money to be made when no one wants to work. Spend a New Year’s Eve bartending and you could make as much as a normal week in tips.

Working as an extra is demanding, if your day job also gets tougher during that time, because the quarter is closing or the office is understaffed, make sure you are ready for the challenge of working extra. It can also be a lot of fun, as most of those jobs are staffed by students and young adults so you may even walk out with a few new friends.

You could also try to make more hours at your day job. A few of my past jobs paid overtime at 125% and Sundays or bank holidays double. Working for a day, getting paid for two should make you forget that you are working when no one is.

On a related topic, Tonya explains how you can make money as a TV or movies extra.

Photography

If you are a good photograph, you can contact the local mall to be the photographer for the Christmas season and take the kids with Santa, in summer you should get in touch with attraction parks, summer camps, etc.

Unless Santa’s photographer got the flu a week earlier, you should get in touch with your prospects up to 6 months in advance, to beat the competition. Have a book ready or a link to your online gallery to show your work, and for a first gig, offer a reasonable price, or to work on commission/tips.

It is still worth checking around a week before the holiday season if you are empty handed, Santa’s photographer may really be home with the flu.

Make holiday crafts

If you are crafty, you can make Christmas decorations and sell them to your neighbors, on Etsy or Amazon. Try to be early and start selling around Halloween at the latest.

You could put your famous Barbecue Sauce in a nice bottle and sell it in summer, or put a ribbon around your jars of tomato sauce and sell them at the town fair.

Sell souvenirs

As a kid I used to holiday on a small island of the Mediterranean Sea. With a couple of friends we would put a small stand in front of the house and sell souvenirs to the tourists passing by. My friend was braiding hair with those colorful threads, I was making friendship bracelets and my cousin offered a selection of nice shells and rocks she had painted.

I hate to be a pushy saleslady so it was not really my scene but we did make what seemed like huge money for a 10 year old.

You can choose to buy the souvenirs in bulk (postcards, t-shirts, whatever local memorabilia your town is known for) and try to resell for a profit but may find yourself with unsold items at the end of the season. DO NOT buy anything that says “Summer of 2013” or could not be sold again the following year.

What you can do it make the souvenirs yourself, buy some nice little bottles with a cork and fill them with local sand. Buy a yard of fabric and fill some bags with lavender. Find nice flowers and dry them, to stick them on notebooks and pads.

Sell popular items

For the 4th of July you can buy fireworks in bulk and resell for a profit. Have you ever wondered how those guys who are selling umbrellas in the streets of NYC suddenly appear with the first drop of rain? Offer a product people will think they need, even if it is just for a few days. I remember a very hot summer in Paris and people were going crazy trying to buy AC units. All the shops were sold out. People were ready to pay premium to cool down.

You can sell paraphernalia at a football stadium or your school’s 5K race. Don’t be overly ambitious and bring a few items to sell, then if you sell out, come back with more the next time.

Sell your holiday stuff

Haven’t been skiing in years? List your skis on Ebay just before the first snows. You will get a much higher price than if you sell at the end of the season. In summer, get rid of the fan that has been gathering dust in the garage, the ice cream maker you got for Christmas and never used, and your summer clothes.

You can host a yard sale during one of the first weekends of summer, and have a seasonal items section, it should be pretty popular.

Summer is also the perfect time to sell your bicycle and motorcycle.

Have you ever worked a holiday related job?