28 Christmas Jobs for Extra Cash [And Where to Find Them]
Searches for holiday Christmas jobs were up 31% last year. Retail trade alone hired 494,000 more seasonal employees last year than they did the previous year. This year the forecasts indicated that retailers are expected to add 520,000 holiday jobs. And I’ve not even included non-retail holiday jobs in those numbers.
In other words, it’s a good time to find part-time Christmas jobs or holiday temp jobs.
If you need some extra cash this holiday season, here are X Christmas jobs you should be searching for and applying to. I’ll start with some of the common ones and then discuss some less-obvious jobs.
Package Handler Jobs
Places like FedEx and UPS along with smaller warehouses will have an increased need for package handlers during the holiday season.
Job Details
Package handlers load, unload, and sort packages. Shifts can vary from part-time to full-time. FedEx hires temporary workers who work between 3 and 6 hours and full-time employees who work between 6 and 10 hours.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $17 and $20 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Google is great for finding these jobs. Many are listed directly on company career pages. Use Google for Jobs to identify them and then go apply directly with the company.
Driver Helper Jobs
UPS and smaller logistic companies hire driver helpers during the holiday season.
Job Details
Each morning a delivery driver will pick you up and you’ll ride along to help them make deliveries. It’s a lot of work but if you love driving jobs, this can be a fun one.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $20 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Google for Jobs is a great place to discover these. Indeed also has many of these jobs listed around the holidays.
Delivery Driver Jobs
Not everyone has driver helpers, but most delivery services need extra drivers this time of year. Logistic companies like UPS and Amazon typically hire seasonal drivers.
Job Details
You’ll need a valid driver's license and be able to pass a background check for these jobs. Each morning you’ll pick up your delivery vehicle, make sure it’s loaded and drive around town delivering packages.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay up to $35 per hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
The best place to find these jobs is on the career sites of places like Amazon, UPS, FedEx, OnTrac and other delivery services. Amazon also has a program called Amazon Flex where you can earn $18-$25 using your own vehicle to deliver packages.
Stock Associate Jobs
Many retail stores will hire seasonal stock associates to help stock shelves and unload deliveries during the holiday season.
Job Details
It can be hard work unloading boxes and stocking shelves, but if you don’t mind some heavy lifting, this could be your extra income job this year. Stock Associates also help with inventory management and may do cycle counts and other activities.
Some retailers will offer these jobs as part-time holiday jobs where you only work early morning hours and others will hire full-time help.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $18 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Google for Jobs is the place to go to find these. Just type in “stock associate jobs” and you’ll be hit with a wall of them. Happy hunting.
Cashier Jobs
Retailers still need cashiers and often will hire extra help during the holidays. And it’s not just retailers, but quick service restaurants as well.
Job Details
If you’re that person at the self-checkout line who has a quick-draw on the checkout, then why not do it for others? I’ve been told the days go by fast because it’s a fast-paced environment. You’ll need to be good with money/math for those cash-paying customers and have some customer service skills to do this job.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $26 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Places like Walmart, Costco, Home Depot, and even Panera are great places to find these jobs. But don’t forget smaller retailers as well. Google for Jobs is a great place to discover possible jobs by typing “cashier jobs” into the search query.
Customer Service Jobs
Customer service desks also have increased traffic inside retailers this time of year.
Job Details
Most commonly, you think of these jobs as the ones who process returns, help customers with inquiries, and assist with pickup/online orders. However, customer service jobs can also include stocking shelves, checking on customers, doing price checks, and more. Depending on the company, it can have a lot of duties so read each job description carefully.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $18 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
You can go to any retailer website to find these jobs, but a quick way to discover openings is to use Google for Jobs and type in “retail customer service jobs”. Most of the time, it will give you a link to apply directly on the company website.
Sales Associate Jobs
These jobs can overlap with customer service jobs depending on what each company calls them but this is another job title you can search for that has a good amount of seasonal job openings.
Job Details
Places like Macy’s and Sephora hire seasonal help to assist customers with choosing makeup, shoes, and all kinds of other things during the holiday season. Just think about the places you shop and which ones often have a sales associate that assists you.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $22 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
You can go to any retailer website to find these jobs, but a quick way to discover openings is to use Google for Jobs and type in “retail sales associate jobs”. Most of the time, it will give you a link to apply directly on the company website.
Makeup Artist Jobs
Most department stores will hire seasonal makeup artists during the holiday season.
Job Details
This job has gotten easier with technology so don’t stress if you’ve never done it before. Many places use apps on mobile devices to help customers match colors. If you can do that and help them find products, you can do this job.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $27 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
It’s best to go directly to a department store website and visit their career page. You can then search for “makeup artist jobs”.
Personal Shopper Jobs
These jobs have been growing since the pandemic and I’m expecting a surge of holiday hiring for them this year.
Job Details
This job is exactly as it sounds. You go shopping for other people. Many stores like Target have online ordering and customers can pick up their orders at the store within a few hours. This job involves going around the store, shopping for those orders, and making sure they are bagged and ready for each customer.
If you like to shop using other people’s money, this could be a fun job.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $17 and $23 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and type in “personal shopper jobs” and you’ll get a list of companies that are hiring for these roles.
Meat Cutter Jobs
Another retail job that often has a surge in holiday hiring is meat cutter jobs.
Job Details
A job that requires no pre-requisite skills usually is the meat cutter. People tend to buy more turkey, chicken, and deli meats this time of year, and places like Costco and other grocery stores will hire extra people to work in their meat departments.
You’ll spend your day grinding, slicing, tenderizing, and packaging up different meats. As long as you’re not a vegan, you could probably do this job.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $21 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and type in “meat cutter jobs” and you’ll get a list of companies that are hiring for these roles.
Gift Wrapper Jobs
Another retail job that often has a surge in holiday hiring is that of gift wrapper.
Job Details
Many high-end stores will hire professional gift wrappers around the holidays. Customers can request their purchases be wrapped as gifts and you’ll be the one doing the wrapping. If you have a knack for wrapping gifts (not everyone does it well), then check out these jobs.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $12 and $22 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and type in “gift wrapper jobs” and you’ll get a list of companies that are hiring for these roles.
Tour Guide Jobs
Retail isn’t the only place that sees increased traffic this time of year. So do theme parks and other destinations.
Job Details
If you speak other languages, this could be an advantage for these jobs. Local historical places, national parks, and theme parks often hire seasonal help for tour guides and similar jobs. If you can quickly memorize information or already know a great deal about a local place, consider sharing that information and getting paid for it.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $17 and $24 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
The best way to find these jobs is to visit websites directly. Visit the websites of any national parks, historic sites, or theme parks, and go to their career pages. If you don’t know what is in your area, you can search Google for “historic sites near me” or something similar to find out what might be around you. Then go to their websites and apply for jobs.
Ski Instructor Jobs
What typically happens in the winter? Snow! Where I live, the mountain resorts usually hire ski instructors around the holiday season. You do need a certification to teach, but if you’re already into this, why not get one?
Job Details
If you love skiing and teaching, this could be a good fit for you. You’ll teach private lessons or group lessons on skiing. It’s a cool job where you get to meet a lot of different people and help them have fun learning how to ski.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $18 and $27 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Many of these jobs are still posted on local news stations. Many of them have a job listing. Find your local news outlets and search for “ski instructor jobs”.
Ice Skating Instructor Jobs
Maybe you don’t know how to ski, but you can ice skate and teach others. This is another job that frequently hires seasonal help.
Job Details
Ice rinks pop up all over the place in the winter (at least they do here in the Southwest). This job is similar to ski instructors except that you don’t need a certification. Instead of teaching people how to ski, you can teach private lessons or group lessons to people who want to learn how to ice skate.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $18 and $32 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
There are far fewer of these jobs than there are ski instructor jobs but if you head over to Google for Jobs and type in “ice skating instructor jobs,” you’ll find some openings during the holiday season.
Mall Santa Jobs
Hopefully, no kids are reading this, but somebody has to pretend to be Santa. Why not you?
Job Details
These jobs can be W2 or freelance. I’ve seen both. If you’ve got a good personality and love kids and pets, this can be a fun job. All you have to do is pretend to be Santa and take some photos. If you’ve got a real white beard, you may even have an unfair advantage. You will need to pass a background check for this job. We can’t just let anyone around the children.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $18 and $40 an hour. Yes, I’ve seen some theme parks and locations pay a lot of money for these roles, especially for the people who authentically look like Santa. The highest I’ve seen is $75 per hour, but that’s rare.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and try these queries: “Santa Claus Actor” or “Mall Santa”
Christmas Elf Jobs
Every Santa needs an elf (or two).
Job Details
These jobs can be W2 or freelance. Similar to the Santa jobs, you will need to pass a background check. You may have an advantage for these jobs if you can sing too. Your job is to assist Santa. You could be walking around a location greeting children or helping with Santa photos in this job.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $25 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and try these queries: “Christmas Elf Jobs”. If that doesn’t pull many jobs up, use the Mall Santa queries and inquire with those same companies about whether they also need to hire elves.
Christmas Tree Designer Jobs
Yes, this is a real thing.
Job Details
This job is exactly as it sounds. People will hire you to decorate and style their Christmas trees. If you’ve got an eye for designing and creating unique Christmas trees, this can earn you some extra cash.
Pay Ranges
Depending on where you live, you could make anywhere from $200 to $1,000 per household or business you decorate for.
Where to Find These Jobs
You can sign up on places like Angi.com and let people find you.
Christmas Decorator Jobs
There are several Christmas decorating companies out there that hire seasonal help.
Job Details
This job entails installing home decor in people’s homes. This could be hanging wreaths to placing ornaments and garlands.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $25 and $40 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
These companies are usually found in higher wealth areas and they can be hard to find. Here’s one from Noel Decor in Thousand Oaks, California.
Uber Driver Jobs
With all those Xmas parties happening, premiums for Uber and Lyft rides are usually higher during the holidays. This could be a great gig to capitalize on while driving people home who have had too much to drink (well, hopefully not too, too much).
Job Details
This is a freelance job that you can do when you want. There are no set hours. If you’ve never heard of Uber or Lyft, think of this as a taxi job using your own car. You will need a valid driver’s license, proof of insurance, pass a background check, and provide additional documentation before you can do this job.
Pay Ranges
Many people have told me that they make over $1,000 per week driving about 30 hours during the holiday season.
Where to Find These Jobs
Head over to Uber or Lyft and sign up.
Pet Sitter Jobs
If you have pets, you’ve most likely hired a pet sitter before. It’s become pretty common in the US. And the holidays are a great time to snag a pet sitting job.
Job Details
As people travel for vacations and holiday gatherings, they need people to watch their pets. Pet sitters will stop by a home a few times a day to feed and play with someone’s pets while they are away. If you love animals, this is a fun job.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $23 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
The best place to find these jobs is to sign up with Rover or Care. You can also go to Yelp and search for “pet sitting” and see if there are local businesses that may be hiring extra hands.
Reindeer Handler Jobs
This is one you may not have thought about. But if you like working with animals, see if there are any farms or ranches near you.
Job Details
Reindeer handlers help transport the animals to events during the holidays, care for them, feed them, and clean out stalls. It’s a great seasonal job to make some extra cash.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $15 and $22 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
A good place to start looking for these jobs is RanchWork.com. It’s the number one place to find jobs like this.
Turkey Farm Jobs
Someone has to pluck and process all those birds.
Job Details
Where I grew up there was a massive bird processing plant on the outside of town. They always needed extra help during the holidays to pluck those birds. If you don’t mind dead turkeys and plucking feathers, this could be a way to earn some extra cash this holiday. Of course, machines do most of the heavy lifting these days, but they still need seasonal help.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $15 and $20 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and try searching for “turkey farm jobs” or “chicken farm jobs” and you might find some of these.
Christmas Light Operator Jobs
Many places have light shows and Christmas light drive-thrus. They usually start seasonal hiring in November.
Job Details
There are many jobs at these events. You could be helping set up the light displays, keeping them running, installing fencing, staking up Christmas trees, or even running a part of the show.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $18 and $35 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
The best way to find these jobs is to search Google for events near you, and then check those event webpages for a hiring page. Here’s a hiring page for one in San Jose, CA.
Christmas Light Installer Jobs
Most people I know don’t feel comfortable installing their own lights. Not everyone deals with ladders and heights well. Christmas light installers are in high demand.
Job Details
These jobs could be for residential buildings or commercial events. Around the middle of November, you’ll start to see an abundance of them pop up. You’ll need to be comfortable going up and down a ladder. There is some risk associated with taller buildings and displays, but if you’re ok with that, it’s a fun job that is outdoors in the fresh air.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $17 and $23 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and type in “Christmas lights.” You’ll find many of these jobs during the holidays.
Christmas Actor Jobs
If you don’t mind being in front of a camera, this is a job you should consider - especially if you’re near LA.
Job Details
These jobs could be for residential buildings or commercial events. Around the middle of November, you’ll start to see an abundance of them pop up. You’ll need to be comfortable going up and down a ladder. There is some risk associated with taller buildings and displays, but if you’re ok with that, it’s a fun job that is outdoors in the fresh air.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the gig, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $15 and $40 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Backstage has all kinds of casting gigs posted on their website including those for Christmas productions. And yes, you can still find plenty of them during the holiday season hiring.
Christmas Kettle Bell Ringer Jobs
Every year you see charitable organizations set up in front of stores. That also means they do seasonal hiring for these roles.
Job Details
The most notable of these is the Salvation Army. Your job will be to greet people as they enter stores, ring your bell, and manage the donations that they give.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $10 and $15 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and type in “kettle bell ringer jobs.” You’ll find many of these jobs during the holidays.
Christmas Tree Sales
Big stores like Home Depot have Christmas tree lots, but there are also pop-up locations and farms that sell trees. Some of these places will hire seasonal help.
Job Details
This job mostly involves sorting trees by style, loading and unloading them, and cleaning the lots. It’s laborious work but with great smells and a holiday mood.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $10 and $15 an hour.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and type in “Christmas tree lot.” You’ll find several of these jobs during the holidays.
Bartender Jobs
Another job that typically hires seasonal help is that of bartender. Bars get busy during the holidays and need extra help. Why not serve up drinks and meet some new people while you’re at it?
Job Details
If you have customer service skills, know how to mix drinks, and can count money, this is a job you might consider. I even have a bartender resume guide if you need help writing one.
Pay Ranges
Pay ranges depending on the company and where you live, but I’ve seen these jobs pay between $16 and $19 an hour plus tips. If you want a complete breakdown of how much bartenders can make, I wrote about that too.
Where to Find These Jobs
Go to Google for Jobs and type in “bartender jobs.” You’ll find many of these jobs during the holidays.
Christmas Jobs Recommended Reading
22 Tips for Dealing With Unemployment During the Holidays
27 Holiday Gift Ideas for the Unemployed
Do Companies Hire in December
Now I want to hear from you!
Have you found a Christmas job for extra cash? Let me know in the comments what jobs you’ve found.
Cole Sperry has been a recruiter and resume writer since 2015, working with tens of thousands of job seekers, and hundreds of employers. Today Cole runs a boutique advisory firm consulting with dozens of recruiting firms and is the Managing Editor at OptimCareers.com.
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