Do you love Christmas and can’t wait to decorate the tree, veranda or balcony, and give presents to your loved ones? If so, you know how much money one can easily spend before the holidays—even if you try to limit yourself and practice frugality to keep your budget low. Hopefully, you’ve managed to earn some extra bucks during Halloween. If not, no worries. Luckily, there are numerous ways to save money for Christmas, you just need to decide what approach to take. We’ve listed 33 tricks you could benefit from regardless of your financial goals for this year’s celebration.

save money for Christmas
What are YOUR plans to save money for Christmas?
Photo by Denise Johnson on Unsplash.

1. Set a Christmas budget and save money monthly

Without a budget, you possibly won’t have so much control over your expenditures. You may not be able to follow how much you’ve already spent, especially if you tend to make impulse purchases. Put a cap on the amount you allow yourself to spend on Christmas presents, decorations, ornaments, etc. Depending on when your preparations for the holidays begin, you should also try to save $10-$45 a month. Every penny counts. A goal set will keep you on track. Whenever you reach a milestone, you can clap yourself. You deserve it.

2. Focus on celebration, not gifts

Another excellent way of saving money for Christmas is to not buy any present but focus on spending quality time with your friends and relatives. Do you enjoy playing board games or eating together? Organize a game or dinner night. Ask them to bring their favorite dish or whatever they want to cook, so you won’t be standing on the kitchen floor for hours. Think about allergies, eat some tasty sweet or savory food, and find out who is the best player in the family and/or among your friends.

3. Start thinking about presents early

In case you have no intention to celebrate Christmas without presents, you should start planning as early as possible. If you know what your loved ones would like and/or could use, keep an eye out for discounted prices. In case you can’t buy them on Black Friday, maybe another day. Do you love Excel sheets? Create one and detail who gets what from when for how much. This way you can also update your budget and check its status regularly.

4. Subscribe to newsletters

To increase your chances not to miss when particular things go on sale, subscribe to newsletters. Yes, some companies still spam customers, but their marketing is more targeted nowadays. And you can simply opt out of receiving certain messages. You may request membership to get larger discounts. You should obviously become a member only if it’s free of charge. Yet make sure you save money for Christmas and not start buying unnecessary things. Also, support small businesses if you can.

5. Get free products and services as a mystery shopper

Another way to pile up a few Christmas presents is to become a mystery shopper and test products—either in shops or at home. Mystery shoppers often keep the items reviewed. You may get rewarded with a coupon to get a discount on a service and/or product. Look for the right mystery shopping gig in your city. Check out EasyShift and HGEM, for example.


Become a mystery shopper in New York City, Las Vegas, San Diego, Jacksonville, Seattle, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Portland, St. Louis, Charlotte, and many other places all over the world.

6. Book tickets in advance

You need money for Christmas because you have to buy a few train, bus or flight tickets. If you already know the dates of your travels, don’t hesitate to book your tickets well in advance. See if there is any discount you can get. Also, it’s worth scanning websites where one can find cheaper tickets. In case you haven’t got the faintest idea about those, ask around. Someone in your social circle will give you some tips. Look for flight tickets on Skyscanner or similar websites.

7. Help others find a job and earn money

Plenty of volunteer opportunities are available during the holidays but think this through. Some organizations need extra hands throughout the year, and showing up only a few days may cause more harm than help. However, there is something you can do if you wish to help out: join jobs affiliate programs, like the one AppJobs has, and spread the word about all types of app-based someone could do (with passion). You could earn passive income doing a kind of online remote marketing job. In other words, you would be making money online when someone registers with AppJobs’ commercial partners.

8. Make money taking surveys

Completing surveys won’t make you rich but you can either cash out or request e-gift cards. Then you can use the money or some of the gift cards to buy presents. We believe this is a great way to save some money for Christmas. Nonetheless, you should begin taking surveys well in advance because you can only request a payout after a certain amount is earned. Try Survey Junkie, Surveys on the Go, or Hiving. With the latter, you may donate your money to a charitable cause.


Take surveys in your home in Hayward, Lansing, Tulsa, Virginia Beach, Austin, Edmonton, Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, and many other places.

9. Get involved in the sharing economy and reduce your costs

Sharing is caring, they say. Participating in the sharing economy, you can simply reduce your travel and food costs among others. For example, you could carpool with Waze and save on gas. If you don’t commute but cook on a daily basis, try Meal Sharing. A few portions of your famous tomato soup sold could pay for the ingredients.


Benefit from the existence of the sharing economy in Toronto, Montréal, San Diego, Austin, Boston, Houston, and many other places.

10. Rent out your stuff

What do you store in your garage or storage unit you barely use? Write a list of them and see what you could rent out for a shorter or longer period of time. Why not save money for Christmas by finding renters for your skis and/or snowboards with Zilok or Rentcharlie, or surfboards with Surfy Nomads? The extra dollars made could get you closer to reach your desired Christmas budget.


Rent out your stuff in Milwaukee, San Antonio, Sacramento, El Paso, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Nashville, Chicago, Vancouver, Calgary, and many other cities.

11. Rent out your car and motorbike

Do you live in a bike-friendly city like Eugene or Portland and can commute by bike? Lucky you. If you park a car or motorbike park somewhere on your property, you may rent out those when in need of money for Christmas. Have a plan B in case an emergency occurs and your vehicle could be a life-saver. Car rental is possible with Getaround and Turo, and easy riders may try Riders Share.


Rent out your car & motorbike in Boston, Chicago, Portland, San Jose, Las Vegas, Chicago, Seattle, Cleveland, Albuquerque, Miami, Houston, and many other cities.

12. Rent out your parking space

On a related note, you could save money for Christmas presents or trips by renting out your parking space⁠—if you have one. It doesn’t have to be located in the city center, your driveway could also work. Find out what it’s like making some money with SpotHero for example.


Rent out your parking space in Denver, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Philadelphia, St. Paul, Memphis, Washington D.C., Dallas, and many other cities.

13. Rent out your home

By now you can certainly see a pattern here… Home rental has become a popular side hustle for many, and you can also save money for Christmas with it. You may welcome guests into your home a few times a year, towards the end of the year, or rent out your apartment or house when you’re visiting family in another city, state or country during Christmas. In the case of the latter, the dollars earned could contribute to next year’s Christmas budget. Or you can simply save money on traveling this way.


Rent out your home in Aurora, Rochester, Oklahoma City, Milwaukee, Columbus, Memhpis, Miami, Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles,Ann Arbor, Cape Coral, Vancouver, Ottawa, Edmonton, Toronto, and and many other cities.

14. Sell your Christmas crafts

Do you pursue a creative hobby? Do you perhaps knit scarves and jumpers, craft some ornaments or wooden toys, or create something else by hand? Many people prefer unique (and sustainable) Christmas decorations, clothing, etc. With Etsy, you can set up your online shop and start selling your products. Opening an online shop doesn’t entail paying extra rent as in the case of physical stores. And you would connect with customers from all over the world. Stay-at-home parents could turn this opportunity into something bigger and more profitable while having enough time for the kids.


Create and sell your crafts in El Paso, Fort Worth, Jacksonville, Charlotte, Dallas, St. Louis, Cleveland, Phoenix, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, and and many other cities.

15. Sell your Christmas templates

You must have surfed the Internet during the holiday season. Many companies change their websites a bit or add some plugins promoting some products or services approaching Christmas, for example. If you are a freelance programmer, or you at least know how to create codes, scripts, plugins, templates, etc. for online use, selling them on Codester might help you save money for Christmas. Learning how to code and using programming languages are real advantages in today’s digitalized world.


Sell your codes, plugins, scripts and templates in Toronto, Québec, Vancouver, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Louisville, and many other cities.

16. Capture the Christmas spirit

Hobby or professional photographers document life on Earth. And in the era of immense content production, it doesn’t matter if the photos are staged. Companies tend to browse stock photos online and download the ones best suited to accompany their texts. Some businesses hire photographers and dronographers to make footage during an event. Check out Fotolia, which is owned by Adobe Stock Photo, or Shootly, and get paid to produce content. Read more about online remote marketing jobs here.


Sell your photos in Tampa, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Portland, Chicago, and cities worldwide.

17. Get your Christmas-themed graphics published

If you’re a graphic designer, letterer or illustrator, your colorful, black-and-white, quirky, traditional, or elegant graphics capturing the Christmas spirit could end up in printed magazines or on websites. If you participated in the Inktober challenge, try to have some rest and start creating when you feel energized again. The applied arts offer tons of job opportunities to freelancers, digital nomads, and part-time creators. Reach out to clients on Fiverr, Freelancer.com, Upwork and other online portals.


Sell your designs in Sacramento, Memphis, Albuquerque, Jacksonville, Denver, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Calgary, Toronto, and cities worldwide.

18. Get your Christmas-themed writings published

Wordsmiths may pitch stories to editors at print or online newspapers. Some might even call for entries and offer cash prize! Share with the world your personal essays, short stories, poems, or any type of writings related to Christmas in one way or another. Add a pen name if you don’t want your real name to be displayed. On platforms, such as Freelancer.com, Hubstaff Talent, Upwork, or Fiverr, you will also find numerous projects hiring a writer.


Write awesome stories and earn money in San Jose, Atlanta, Charlotte, Seattle, Indianapolis, Toronto, Edmonton, Vanvoucer, Calgary, and other cities worldwide.

19. Look for house-sitting opportunities

We’d list house sitting among the money-making ideas for Christmas despite the fact that it’s not always a paid job. However, if you can work remotely from anywhere, not paying rent must sound like a great plan to save money for Christmas. With HouseSitter.com, you would connect with homeowners in need of someone taking care of their homes while they’re traveling the world or gone on a shorter trip.


Become a house sitter in Port St. Lucie, Shreveport, Wichita, McAllen, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Omaha, Calgary, Montréal, Ottawa, and other cities.

20. Prepare others’ homes for the holidays too

What would someone see if entered your home? Shiny surfaces, maintained equipment, arranged drawers? In this section, cleaners and handymen get their dose of money-making ideas for Christmas.

20.1. Clean homes and offices

People might buy a Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, but they still need to do some cleaning in their homes or offices. Therefore, you may think of making extra income offering your services as a cleaner just before Christmas, and even after it. Depending on where you live and what type of cleaning you do, you can eke out your budget for Christmas. Check out Housekeeper.com and other sites.


Clean homes and offices in Des Moines, Huntsville, Reno, Tempe, Aurora, Fort Wayne, Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, and lots of other cities.

20.2. Perform easy handyman tasks

Putting up shelves or rearranging the house before the guests arrive to the Christmas dinner. If you need money for Christmas urgently, try easy handyman jobs. TaskRabbit is a popular platform among college students and others.


Visit other homes and help people out in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Charlotte, Baltimore, Detroit, and lots of other cities.

22. Do some shopping but not only for yourself

Some people go crazy about the Christmas dinner and prepare tons of food. They might not have the time to do the shopping on their own, so they turn to services such as Instacart or Shipt. Join these platforms as a delivery driver and boost your Christmas budget purchasing and delivering items listed on shopping lists.


Become a grocery shopper in Atlanta, Memphis, Oxnard, Augusta, Detroit, San Antonio, Houston, Allentown, Hayward, Austin, Denver, Toronto, and several other cities.

23. Start a part-time job

Some of the money-making ideas for Christmas detailed above could actually become your part-time job. In this section, we’re introducing another 8 ideas, including driver, care, and local guiding jobs, to give you the opportunity to choose the one that best suits your needs. Most of them pay soon and some of them offer social benefits.


Start a flexible part-time job in Portland, Seattle, Salt Lake City, St. Paul, Atlanta, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and hundreds of other cities.

23.1. Pet sitter

Do we need to explain why pet sitting enjoys popularity among animal lovers? We don’t think so. It’s a flexible job less and more experienced sitters can do part-time. Check out Rover or PetSitter.com and meet your dream barking clients.


Work part-time as a pet sitter in Columbus, Aurora, Tacoma, Cape Coral, Seattle, Fort Myers, Albuquerque, Vallejo, Simi Valley, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Montréal, and many other cities.

23.2. Babysitter

Do you prefer kids? Start a part-time job as a babysitter. It’s important that you accept job offers of families you get along with. Choose the type of job (nanny, au pair, tutor, etc.) you feel qualified for. Consider College Nannies and Tutors and Care.com, or read about other platforms as well. If you don’t mind doing some shifts during the holidays, let families know you’re available. Your rates can be higher, of course.


Work part-time as a babysitter in Tacoma, Houston, New York City, Tucson, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Montréal, and many other cities.

23.3. Professional care provider

As we get older, we need more help in our everyday life. Unfortunately, many people require professional help throughout their lives. If you’ve taken some courses in healthcare and/or been working as a nurse or professional caretaker for a long time, you might be the perfect candidate for a family. Many of them look for caretakers online, for example on ElderCare. Don’t have the qualifications or the experience to look after the elderly or people with special needs? What about massage therapist jobs? Again, you must submit official documents that prove you’re skilled and trained. As a massage therapist, you may offer discounts on your services or sell vouchers. Not only do you save money for Christmas but also your clients could give a massage as a Christmas present to their loved ones.


Work part-time as a professional care provider in Tacoma, Baton Rouge, Des Moines, Miami, Atlanta, Québec, Ottawa, Montréal, Toronto, and many other cities.

23.4. Driver

We’ve discussed carpool previously, now we focus on another type of driver job. In larger cities, ride-hailing platforms flourish, and many people decide to drive passengers around. Both Uber and Lyft has set a list of requirements for drivers and their vehicles. Find out whether or not you can join their pool of drivers. Extra tip: according to veteran drivers, they can make more money during the holidays thanks to surged prices.


Work part-time as a driver in Austin, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Denver, Eugene, Seattle, Norfolk, Toledo, and many other cities.

23.5. Delivery driver

If your vehicle doesn’t meet the requirement set by Lyft or Uber, it might be acceptable to on-demand delivery services. Or you can simply leave your car at home and ride your bike, scooter or motorbike instead. Food delivery is probably the queen of all delivery jobs. You may join multiple platforms to make sure you save enough money for Christmas. Read about DoorDash, Postmates, and other apps.


Work part-time as a delivery driver in Wilmington, Stockton, Salinas, Vancouver, Ottawa, and many other cities.

23.6. Virtual assistant

If you communicate well, enjoy working online remotely, and can handle admin work, get a part-time job as a virtual assistant. You would assist the work of on-site teams by booking hotels, flight tickets, etc. Start your explorations with Fancy Hands.


Work part-time as a virtual assistant in New York City, Las Vegas, Tucson, or Washington D.C., Indianapolis, and many other cities.

23.7. Local guide

Social and talkative creatures knowing their cities well may find local guiding jobs fulfilling. Plan tours and experiences, publish them on a website, and guide a small group meanwhile sharing local knowledge with them. Both amateur and certified tour guides can profit from introducing foreigners to the wonders in cities with Pick Your Day, U2GUIDE, Vayable, ToursByLocals or Dabble. Nevertheless, always read the requirements: in some cases, only certified tour guides are allowed to offer their services. When Christmas is just around the corner, adapt your tours a tiny bit. If you’re willing to meet up with tourists during the holidays, feel free to increase your rates—especially if you’ve gone over budget and need more money for Christmas.


Work part-time as a local guide in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Kansas City, Toronto, Calgary, and many other cities.

23.8. Entertainer

If you think you couldn’t sustain yourself as a full-time entertainer, keep your main job and entertain children and adults, as a DJ, impersonator, musician, performer, dancer, etc., part-time. The official Christmas celebrations in schools and workplaces take place a few weeks before Christmas, so you wouldn’t even miss your own family’s celebrations; unless you want to. To keep your budget and contribute a certain amount every month, invest in planning your schedule and setting your rates when building your profile on GigSalad and other freelance platforms. Doing what you love and save money for Christmas having lots of fun.


Work part-time as an entertainer in Boston, Denver, Houston, Houston, Edmonton, Vancouver, Montréal, Québec, and other cities.

31. Master your cooking skills

Speaking of entertainment, showcase your amazing cooking skills and entertain some strangers at your dinner table as a home chef. If you friends loved your pumpkin pie baked for the Halloween party, others will ask for seconds too when being served with your mom’s traditional (Christmas) recipes. Cook anything you want, set the mood, and engage in conversations with a group of people who all have a story to tell.


Get paid for your tasty meals in Chicago, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and several other cities.

32. Share your precious knowledge

Learning a language means one must improve their vocabulary. If you’re a teacher, you could provide them with all kinds of learning materials to make their experience more fun. For example, one of your lessons could cover topics related to Christmas. Besides face-to-face lessons on a variety of subjects, you may design courses and upload them on a particular site. Like on Udemy. Find the right platforms for yourself and save money for Christmas by assisting the development of others.


Earn money by teaching from your home in New Orleans, Phoenix, San Francisco, New York City, Denver, Ottawa, Calgary, Toronto, and other cities.

33. Ask your peers for advice

If you’re not pleased with our list, maybe the best you can do is to ask others about the best jobs in your city, region or country. You’re not the only one who need advice on how to save money for Christmas. Keep in mind that even the less significant detail could help someone in their quest of finding the most suitable and/or profitable job before the holidays.


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