Most people would love to make an extra couple of dollars during the holiday season. Whether you want to buy the perfect gift for someone or need to save up for a trip to see family, money is unfortunately an important part of surviving the holiday season. Here are a few different ways to make some extra money during the upcoming holiday season:

Offer to Do Yard Work

A lot of people hate doing yard work, so this could be a great opportunity for you to earn some extra money. Offer to rake leaves, shovel snow, clean gutters, or trim hedges for a specific fee. Even just offering to rake a few yards or shovel a few driveways could bring in a significant amount of money. You might find yourself surprised by how many people are happy to pay you to do the yard work they’ve been putting off.

Do Freelance Work

Do you enjoy blogging in your spare time? Or maybe you really enjoy taking photographs or doing graphic design. If so, you should think about hiring out your skills on a freelance basis. There are plenty of sites online that are looking for freelancer workers, such as freelancer.com or elance.com, and many newspapers or companies often look for freelance employees around the holidays.

Sell Your Skills

Are you known for your baking skills? Or maybe you’re amazing at making handcrafted pieces of furniture. You may also have a variety of hobbies or skills that you could turn into something profitable. Whatever your hobby or skill, you should think about trying to monetize it. Whether you want to advertise in person or online, this can be a great way to earn some extra money during the holiday season.

Give Lessons or Tutor

If you have a strong background in a certain career field or hobby, you could also think about giving lessons or tutoring. If you have an impressive academic background, you may be able to earn some extra money helping out high school or college students. If you really know your way around instruments, consider giving lessons a few times a week.

Pick up a Seasonal Job

Another option to earn some extra money during the holidays is to pick up a seasonal job. Many retail stores look for extra help around the holiday. While working at the counter of a department store or making coffee at your local coffeeshop may not seem ideal, it’s an easy way to earn some money.

Errand Running

People are extremely busy around the holidays and often don’t have time to run errands. If you have the time and resources, you can offer your services as an errand runner. This could be something as simple as offering to pick up or drop off packages, cards, and gifts or something as intense as buying all the presents on someone’s list.

Sell Items You Don’t Need

Most of us have items hanging about the house that we never use. If you’re looking to make some extra money, try selling some of your unused or unneeded possessions. There are a variety of ways to do this, whether you want to host a garage sale, put up flyers in places around the city or town, or sell them online on eBay, Amazon, or Craigslist.

Work Overtime or Pick up Extra Shifts

If you currently work at a job where you’re allowed to work overtime or pick up extra shifts, you might want to consider doing so. If your employer allows you to work overtime, this might be the easiest way to make some extra money during the holidays. While it’s probably not your preferred way of making extra money, it might be the best choice.

Housesitting

A lot of people go away around the holidays and might want someone to housesit. Some people tend to be worried that someone may break into their house when their gone or may have plants or pets that need to be taken care of while they’re away. If you don’t have any other plans and it’s not too inconvenient for your schedule, you should consider hiring yourself out as a housesitter.

Childcare or Petcare

Another great way to make some extra money around the holidays is offering your services as a childcare or petcare provider. Many parents want someone to watch their kids for a couple hours so they can go out holiday shopping. Additionally, many people often need someone to watch, walk, or bathe their pets because they’re too busy to do so around the holidays. It’s definitely worth your while to consider babysitting or petsitting for friends, family, or acquaintances this holiday season.