30+ Quick Ways To Make Extra Money For Christmas
Did you know that the average family spends about $1,000 every year for Christmas, and that 96% of Americans buy gifts for their families?
This is a lot of money. And it's easy to feel pressured to spend money on gifts or festivities around the holiday season.
However, you don't have to throw your budget out the window to have a merry Christmas. In fact, there are numerous ways you can make extra money for Christmas to stay on track.
How To Make Extra Money For Christmas
The following 10+ side hustles and ideas are all perfect ways to boost your income during the Christmas season:
1. Sell Some Unused Items For Quick Cash
One of the best ways to make quick money in a day or two is to sell your unused items. And this is one way I've made money back in college and around the holidays.
Take an afternoon to look through your home for things you can potentially sell. Things like electronics, clothing, furniture, gadgets, books, and even shoes can all sell pretty quickly.
Next, get ready to list a few items for sale on local selling sites or reputable online marketplaces. Some of the ones I suggest using include:
- Facebook Marketplace (the best for general merchandise)
- Craigslist
- Worthy (this is great for selling watches and jewelry)
- OfferUp (the best Facebook Marketplace alternative)
- eBay (the best for niche items and collectibles)
Between these sites, you should be able to find buyers for your merchandise in just a couple of days. And I like local selling options since you get paid in cash which you can use to cover Christmas expenses.
2. Get Paid For Your Opinion
Want an easy online side hustle? Try using online survey sites to get paid for your opinion.
This is another super simple, quick side hustle you can use to make money for Christmas. And if you grind out a few surveys each day, making $5 to $20 a day is pretty reasonable.
Several sites and apps I suggest using due to their fast payouts include:
I'd start with Branded Surveys and Swagbucks since these have a $5 and $1 cash out minimum respectively. But all of these sites are free to sign up for and let you make money immediately.
3. Become A Delivery Courier
The Christmas season is a busy time for businesses and deliveries. So, why not make extra cash for Christmas by delivering packages and food for money?
This is another side hustle that spikes during November and December and can pay very well. And there are plenty of gig apps you can try, including:
- Uber Eats (my personal favorite)
- Amazon Flex
- DoorDash
- Instacart
- Walmart Spark
Earning $10 to $20 an hour with these driving gigs is quite realistic. And during Christmas, plenty of people leave better tips. These apps can also pay drivers more with surge pricing and bonuses.
Start making money with Uber Eats!
4. Borrow The Funds
If someone can spot you the money for Christmas, that might be an option worth considering.
Personally, I don't think there's anything wrong with talking to your family about having a giftless Christmas or finding ways to save money during the holidays. In fact, some families are changing traditions and getting back to just giving thanks on Christmas and spending time with family.
That said, if you're struggling with money, you have a few options. For one, you can ask some close family to spot you. You can also turn to your bank or various cash advance apps to get some extra funds.
Dave is one example, and the app lets you get up to $500 against an upcoming paycheck with its ExtraCash Advancement feature. It doesn't run a credit check or charge any interest, and it even has a nice side hustle finder to help you make more cash.
Again, you don't have to borrow money if you keep Christmas leaner this year. But these options are available if you're comfortable with them.
Check out our post – is Dave legit? – for all the details!
Extra Reading – How To Get $500 By Tomorrow.
5. Holiday Cash Gigs
Doing odd jobs around the Christmas season can be incredibly lucrative. For example, my friends and I used to make money when we were younger by shoveling driveways of snow for people in our neighborhood.
This is just one example of a local cash gig that pops up around Christmas. Several other gigs you can try include:
- Babysitting
- Cleaning
- Caretaking
- Hanging Christmas lights for people (this is very lucrative!)
- House sitting
- Nannying
- Pet sitting and dog walking (you can use apps like Rover to find pet owners who need your help)
Personally, I suggest looking on classified websites like Craigslist to find gigs. You can also use apps like Steady or TaskRabbit to find local clients and to make some quick side cash.
6. Get A Second Job
Plenty of businesses go on a hiring spree during the holidays. So, if you're open to a second job, this is one of the most stable ways to make more money for Christmas.
Here are just a few ideas of jobs you can look for:
- Cashier
- Delivery driver
- Hotel worker (in touristy towns)
- Gift wrapper
- Mall Santa or helper
- Snow removal driver
- Store greeter
- Warehouse worker
My friends have made money by working as gift wrappers. And again, there are plenty of high-paying, seasonal jobs that you can land pretty quickly.
7. Earn Money By Playing Games
Are you a fan of video games? If you are, one fun way to make extra money during the holidays is to use game apps that pay you.
There's a wide range of apps and websites that let you play games for PayPal cash or gift cards. I've been testing these apps for years, and some of my all-time favorites include:
- Cash Giraffe (Android)
- Bubble Cash (iOS)
- Rewarded Play (Android)
- Buff (PC)
- Mistplay (Android)
All of these apps are a fun way to make a bit of side money while exploring new games. And while they probably won't cover all of your Christmas shopping expenses, every little bit counts!
8. Test Websites
One more Christmas side hustle you can try involves testing websites for money.
This hustle is actually quite fun. Numerous companies pay you to test websites and apps that are in development and then provide feedback. You generally earn $10 for every short test you do, so the hourly rate is quite decent.
Several leading user-testing gigs include:
You can also read our post on the best websites like UserTesting for even more ideas. And signing up for several websites is a good idea so you have as much testing opportunities as possible.
9. Use Reward Apps
If you're going to do some Christmas shopping, you might as well get paid for it.
This is also incredibly easy to do. That's because there are plenty of reward apps and shopping extensions that pay you with cash back when you shop at thousands of popular brands.
Several leading apps and websites I use and suggest checking out include:
- Fetch (this is great for groceries)
- Rakuten
- Capital One Shopping
- Ibotta
- Pogo
Rakuten is where I suggest starting since right now, it has a $30 sign up bonus if you create an account and spend at least $30 on a shopping offer. This is an easy way to score some cash back for the holidays, and all of these apps help me save more money each year.
Note: Capital One Shopping compensates us if you sign up with the provided link.
Even More Christmas Side Hustle Ideas
If you're still looking for ways to make money for Christmas, here are even more hustles to help you out:
- Use microtask sites like Amazon MTurk to make money from home
- Become a virtual assistant
- Make money with online freelancing
- Participate in studies with websites like User Interviews
- Become an Upwork or Fiverr freelancer
- Teach English or other subjects online
- Become a rideshare driver for Uber or Lyft
- Design websites or holiday brochures for local businesses
- Work at a ski resort or in a similar touristy area
- Make money with mystery shopping apps like Premise or Shopkick
- Sell Christmas crafts at flea markets or on Etsy
- Make money busking by playing Christmas tunes
- Start a print on demand store that sells Christmas goods
- Sell old electronics for money
- Pawn stuff for money
- Make money as a personal trainer
- Work at a gift card and holiday supply store
- Make money blogging
- Use gpt websites to make money
- Sell clothing with Poshmark or similar websites
- Make money as a freelance writer
- Sell stock photos or become an event photographer
- Make money renting out your space or home with Airbnb
Final Thoughts
I hope my guide on how to make extra money for Christmas helps you make ends meet and enjoy some of the holiday spirit.
Again, sticking to a budget is a massive part of managing your finances during Christmas. And if you have a game plan, you can definitely boost your income to help cover some expenses.
Plus, a lot of these ideas are fun side hustles, or hustles that you and your family can try out together. Hopefully, at least one of these ideas works for you.
Want even more money-making ideas? Checkout:
