15 side hustle ideas to make extra cash this Christmas

Christmas is the perfect time to road test that side hustle or small business idea. It’s the peak time of year for gift shopping, and businesses often need extra support to meet the demand of those busy shoppers with groups  also looking for fun activities to do together during the festivities.

The wide range of demands over Christmas means there is an opportunity for most businesses to utilise the festive rush and make some extra cash for buying gifts, extra fun at Christmas or to top up that savings account.

This article will look at some of the best side hustle ideas that could earn you some extra cash this Christmas including how much you could earn, why overall it’s a great idea and how to get started.

1. Sell Christmas craft bundles

Christmas crafts aren’t just for children – oh no they aren’t – and many adults love to return to their childhood roots and get involved with crafting during the festive period. Creating Christmas-themed craft packs that are ready-to-go is a known winner of a way to earn extra income.

From making your own Christmas tree decorations to building and decorating Christmas crackers, pulling these packs together can be affordable when the items are bought in bulk. Head to shops like Hobbycraft or Poundland to buy your supplies and use drawstring bags with a festive touch as your packaging. 

Depending on your craft of choice, you could sell your craft bags for around £10, or more, on online marketplaces like Etsy.

2. Set up a Christmas market stall

From sweet treats to Christmas ornaments, bakers and crafters alike can make extra cash by having their own stall at a Christmas market. 

If you’re considering signing up for one, you’re probably a Christmas market connoisseur already, so think about whether your item could do well at a market or fill a gap that you’ve noticed. 

Depending on the size, freshly baked goods like German-style gingerbread hearts often sell for around £4-6, whilst handmade Christmas ornaments can fetch anywhere up to £30.

Search for Facebook groups such as Christmas market stall sellers to chat about inventory and work out how much you  need to source.  If you find you have excess goods, you could sell your products online on platforms like Facebook marketplace and Etsy.

3. Offer a local gift wrapping service

If you are a gift wrapping pro, this one’s for you. Christmas is a very busy period for most people, and wrapping gifts is often pushed down the priority list below prepping for Christmas dinner, hosting and present shopping itself. 

Use Facebook marketplace and advertising boards in local shops and shopping centres to advertise your gift wrapping service. Your fee depends on a few elements – if you are happy to offer pick up and drop off service as well as the gift wrapping supplies, your fee will be much higher than if the customer is dropping gifts to you with the paper and ribbons already provided.

If you offer an all-in service with pick and delivery, you could charge around £30 per hour for your services. Be sure you add a photo of your best gift wrapping to your advert so people know how talented you are!

4. Get a Christmas temp job

Many shops look for temporary retail staff over the Christmas period to help them cater to busy festive shoppers. If you’re already working part-time, it may be tricky to fit this kind of role around your existing one, so this is better suited to students, retirees, and anyone who has a more flexible schedule.

Keep an eye on job sites and local advertisement boards from October for short-term roles, which typical pay around minimum wage – that £11.44 an hour for over 21s and £8.60 for 18-20 year olds.

5. Offer pet and babysitting services

Christmas party season means many parents will be looking for extra childcare support, so this is a great opportunity for experienced babysitters to make extra cash. Stand out from the crowd by offering festive-themed babysitting with promises of Christmas baking, crafts or movies. 

Babysitters can expect to earn around £12 an hour – but be mindful that this can often involve late nights, so make sure this fits in with your schedule.

Pet sitting is another great side hustle as more people head away for family visits over the festive period. For overnight stays at your home, you could earn around £35.

6. Become a Christmas party planner

Almost every business hosts a Christmas party, but not every manager has the time to plan one. If you’re an organisational pro and love pulling together parties for big groups, advertising your services as a Christmas party planner for local businesses is a brilliant way to make extra money.

Shouting about your service on Facebook groups in your area can be incredibly effective, and not being afraid to pop into local businesses with a flyer to chat about what you offer can add personality to your venture. If you’re happy to work remotely for locations you’re less familiar with, you could extend this service to any business in the UK with a lot of organisation. 

The side hustle can be really lucrative, with party planner fees usually being around 15% of the total party budget.

7. Offer personal Christmas shopping

Do you always know the best gift to buy someone, or simply love the shopping experience? Being a personal shopper at Christmas might be the perfect way for you to earn extra money. Sometimes clients will look to you for inspiration, or they might have a ready-made list for you to go out and buy – either way, it can be a shopping lover’s dream job.

Fees vary for personal shopping, but you could charge up to £300 for a four hour in-store shopping trip. Remember, such a role holds a lot of responsibility as you are being trusted with your client’s money, so be sure you are comfortable with this before advertising your service on social media, local announcement boards and through leafletting.

8. Create personalised Christmas cards

Personalisation is a great way to make Christmas cards extra special, so this is a great way to earn extra cash for creatives. 

Even better is that designers usually have most of the tools needed to make them – a computer, a printer and some good quality card to hand to start your design. You will, of course, need to also purchase envelopes and pay for postage, but you will still make a good profit against the £5 you can charge per personalised greeting card. 

Delivery services can be a little unreliable in November and December, so protect your side hustle by offering tracked postage. Etsy is a great place to get a huge reach for such goods.

9. Sell used items

Second hand shopping is more popular than ever, and this will spike even more over the festive period. Use this as an opportunity to clear out items you don’t want and sell them on second hand platforms like Vinted, eBay and Facebook marketplace. 

From clothes and accessories to electronics, there’s no limit for how much you could earn. Even better is that you’ll only need to cover the cost of packaging for your items when using platforms like Vinted, which have the postage fees covered – and Facebook marketplace shoppers will likely come to your door!

10. Become a temporary virtual assistant

Many offices close for Christmas, meaning businesses really feel the pressure to meet work demands in the run up – and this often means they need short-term support to help them get through it.

Virtual assistants take on the time-consuming methodical work that is crucial but doesn’t require internal expertise to complete, so this could prove lucrative over the busy festive period. All you are likely to need is a laptop. 

Virtual assistants can earn around £30 per hour – but the job can often be demanding, so be sure you have a high-level of organisational skills and ensure this can fit this around your existing commitments. 

Set up a LinkedIn account to advertise your virtual assistance services and check in with your friends and ex-colleagues to see if they can connect you with someone in need.

11. Teach festive baking classes

Friends, families and small businesses alike often look for small group activities in a relaxed setting over the festive period, and a festive baking class is a great fit. If you already have hygiene certification for the space you’d like to host such classes, this is all the easier to set up. 

Perhaps you could make mince pies or decorate a gingerbread house – you will need to cover the cost of the ingredients and a box for them to take their goods home. The fee you can charge will depend on how long your sessions are, but expect to charge around £80 per person for a three-hour session for adults, and around £50 for a children’s workshop.

12. Set up Christmas tree delivery

Lots of people love to have a real Christmas tree but can struggle with getting it home. Christmas trees can be huge and heavy, so offering a delivery service is a great idea – and all the better if you have a van that can fit the biggest trees.

You could either have a pick up and drop off service, or you could even offer to select the tree yourself too. For pick up and drop off, you could charge around £20 – but be sure to make your delivery area clear in your advertisement so you don’t spend all your profit on fuel.

Spread the word by leafleting in your delivery area and share what you’re offering on local notice boards and community Facebook groups.

13. Take up family photography

Are you a budding photographer or already working as one? Family photography around Christmas time is popular because it’s a great memento for the year and photos are a lovely gift too. 

The weather in the UK can be unpredictable, but you could offer your services outside in a scenic setting, or maybe even at your client’s home, if they are interested in this. This is a great way to earn extra money around the holiday period. And if you offer digital files and already have a camera, there is no expenditure for you.

Fees vary for photographers depending on experience, but you could expect to charge around £400 for a two-hour session and delivery of around 40 edited digital images.

14. Become a “gram” for hire

Have you got a beautiful singing voice and buckets of confidence? Christmas “grams” are quite an American feature over the period – if you know the film ‘Elf’, you’ll know what we mean – but they are growing in popularity here. And if you’re happy to wear a funny festive outfit at the same time, all the better.

Customers will often hire you to visit someone and sing one song – and it’s usually a surprise, so be prepared to sing away at some shocked faces! You can charge around £50 for your service, or a little more if you are travelling outside of your local area. 

This is a really fun way to bring some extra laughs into the office the last working day before Christmas, so be sure to pop leaflets through the doors of local businesses to spread the word.

15. Become Father Christmas or an elf

Yes, really! Santa’s grottos are everywhere over Christmas from shopping centres to garden centres, and each will need a Santa and lots of helpful elves to run it. Check out local job sites for advertisements in autumn and be prepared to dress up for your shifts. You may even get some funky shoes to wear! 

You can expect to earn minimum wage for this type of work, but there will be lots of hours to pick up from the end of November running through to Christmas Eve.

Festive fun

Christmas is the perfect time to test out your business idea or pick up extra work to make some extra cash ahead of the new year. Some ventures may be able to continue into the new year, so why not give it a go? 

Businesses are in need of more support than ever to meet the demands of Christmas shoppers and end-of-year deadlines, and as we know, Christmas gets earlier every year!

Be sure to target your professional services at these companies from October – even start to think about plans over the summer if you want to be really organised. For creatives, it’s a great time to showcase your skills and sell your handcrafted goods. 

Check out our guide to side hustles for more tips on making extra money. Merry Christmas!