Are you looking to make some extra cash this winter? Look no further!
We’ve compiled a list of side hustles that can earn you at least $1k during the winter season. I’ve sorted the jobs on this list from what feels easiest to what may require more skills and strength to execute.
An easy way to earn $1000, especially from home is building a website from scratch and selling it on a marketplace. I teach how to do this in the Make a $1000 this Season mini-course.
– Inspiredtoblog Creator Josie Grabois
Another top recommendation is – to list your services on marketplaces like the ones found on Facebook, and build your business that way. Facebook Marketplace is a great way to shop for local and bargain products, and services.
Let us know if you know of any other ideas that we can add to this list in the comments section below.
Winter Side Hustles that Earn at Least $1K
Whether you’re trying to figure out how to make money when it’s cold or are looking for lucrative winter side hustles, there are plenty to choose from. You can also cater your weekend side hustle around your interests and whether or not you want to be indoors or out. Not all side hustles in winter are about being out in the cold, but if you love snow and the great outdoors, you can make a bundle.
Here’s our round-up of where to get started. Or pick a few and build a thriving business this winter that translates to more revenue and savings for spring.
Decorating In a Box Service
If you have a knack for decorating, offer your services to people who want to spruce up their homes for the holidays. There’s two ways you can provide this service, you can sell a box of pre-designed and curated decorations with instructions on how to create a festive atmosphere, or you can provide the actual decoration services for people that want to decorate for the holidays.
This decorating service helps everyday individuals beautifully decorate their homes for the festive period, as they may lack the time or expertise to do so themselves (like me, so I would know)!
As a hired decorator, you will provide a hassle-free solution by delivering personalized decoration boxes filled with stunning ornaments, lights, and festive accents. If you have a creative touch and attention to detail, this creative gig could be for you! I imagine you can charge $20 to $25/hour for this gig, as it is just a short term project with lots of manual labor.
Check out what other people are selling on Facebook Marketplace here.
Ski and Snowboarding Transportation
If you love to make money in the cold and be part of the skiing and snowboarding season, this winter side hustle is for you. Advertise your services to drive people to ski and snowboarding resorts for the day. Although a place like Breckenridge already has a fierce transportation infrastructure, smaller resorts do not. Or they only offer transportation from major airports and train stations. Yet there are still plenty of people who want to get away for a day trip and hit the slopes.
For example, New Yorkers spend a bundle to catch a charter bus to areas like Hunter Mountain in the early morning hours and come back in the evening. You can stand out by offering a private car or van ride to the mountain, complete with snacks, warm drinks, and a more comfortable way to get to the mountains.
Snow Trekking Tours for Airbnb Guests
Airbnb experiences are tours, events, and experiences led by local hosts in an area. You can even offer online experiences using Zoom, like giving people in-depth advice about what to see and do. But if you live in a wintery destination, turn your love of the outdoors into a winter side hustle.
Offer to take tourists on snow trekking tours and end with hot toddies at the local bar. Or turn any of your town’s holiday fun into an Airbnb experience by serving as the go-to local expert.
There are also ways to upsell this side hustle in cold weather. Charge a premium to pick up guests and drop them back off, equipment rental, and VIP experiences. You can also learn more here about starting your own Airbnb side hustle (even without owning property!).
Christmas Light Installation
If you’re experienced in hanging Christmas lights, and do it every year – why not offer your services to others who may not have the time or expertise?
This is generally a service that could potentially be done by professionals, but hobbyists and experienced people can do this service for others, especially if they know how to. Take some pictures of your work and put it up on your social media platforms local groups, where others can find out about who you are, and what you do.
You can charge the a bargain rate and do two-three households, or get a huge house project and charge a flat $1000 – if that seems fair to you. Remember, in order to win the job – you will want to do competitor research and price yourself accordingly.
Gift Wrapping Services
Many households have a mountain of gifts that need wrapping. Offer your gift-wrapping skills to busy individuals who would appreciate the extra help during the holiday rush.
God knows I’ve helped out countless family members do this exact job. This job entails removing price tags, disposing of packaging (if not being wrapped in packaging), wrapping, taping, folding, and stacking.
Of course this is an easy gig, and some households will have a ton of gifts that need they need wrapping. You can likely charge anywhere between $15-$20 an hour, for this short term gig that does involved a lot of manual labor. For the higher price-point, definitely upsell your impeccable wrapping skills to get hired.
Seasonal Retail Jobs
Take advantage of the holiday shopping season by applying for part-time jobs at your local department stores.
TJMaxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods are just a few examples of places that often need extra help, with extended hours and lots of restocking to go around – you are likely to pick up a holiday gig that could turn permanent even after the winter has past.
You can bet, depending on your location – that the pay will average to anywhere from $12-$20 an hour, and not to mention, you’d also likely qualify for a hefty discount 😮 as well. After 50 hours at $20/hour – you’ll earn your $1000.
Indoor Winter Odd Jobs
If you have handyman skills, advertise your services on platforms like Facebook and local community groups. People often need help with small tasks around the house during the winter months. Indoor odd jobs could include:
- Organization
- Cleaning out a Garage
- Painting a wall, or room
- Moving things to storage
If you’re handy and can use a set of tools, you can land work doing odd indoor winter jobs. From sealing gaps around windows to changing out air filters and carbon monoxide detector batteries, homeowners have a laundry list of things to do that they don’t have time for. Just buying a new air filter and changing it out saves people time and is also significantly less expensive than booking an HVAC crew to do it for them.
But you still have options with winter odd jobs, even if you’re not that handy. Offer to clean out someone’s attic or garage, take items to Goodwill, and do a deep clean before company comes. There’s always a need for extra hands around the holidays; the trick is figuring out which one is the biggest pain point for potential customers.
Winter Party Helper
With holiday parties in full swing, party hosts may need assistance with setting up, serving, or cleaning. Offer your services as a party helper and make some extra money while spreading holiday cheer.
Throwing a holiday party isn’t for the faint of heart. From grocery shopping to food prep and making sure guests are fed and happy, the hosts aren’t usually having much fun. A holiday party helper is there to assist the host, but you can set boundaries, like you don’t do deep cleaning and only help get the house tidy after guests leave.
Get on the same page by coming up with a list of what the host needs and agreeing to the terms before you get started. One of the best parts of being a party helper is that you get to enjoy yourself and usually get a helping of snacks and treats.
Personal Gift Shopping
The gift-giving season causes stress for the majority of us. It’s challenging to come up with fresh ideas for friends, family, co-workers, vendors, business clients, teachers, and new members of the family. Zero in on the types of gift shopping you do best, whether that’s for business clients or kids. Or you can offer general gift shopping services and create lists with links and prices for suggested items.
Once they arrive, upsell your customers on gift-wrapping services. The done-for-you experience helps stressed-out gift-givers and helps grow your winter side hustle income.
Seasonal National Park Work
If you love to travel, you can find work at national parks throughout the U.S. They’re often easier to find during the winter months, especially if you don’t mind living on-site in Alaska and colder mountainous areas. The U.S. National Park Service offers paid employment, student positions, and volunteer opportunities that could help you make money while traveling.
The National Park Service posts jobs through USAJobs.gov with detailed job postings of what’s expected, seasonality, projected hours, overtime requirements, and pay. Need a winter side hustle with your significant other? Our Traveling Jobs for Couples could lead you on a paid Antarctica adventure with free room and board.
Baked Goods and Delivery
Wintertime is all about baked goods, but not everyone wants to make them at home or bring store-brought options to a holiday party. Instead, homemade, freshly baked holiday cookies, pies, cakes, and old-fashioned treats are in demand. They’ll need a decorative flair to be eye-catching enough, but they are easy to share on social media. Post your favorite creations, announce they’re for sale, and see what happens.
Of course, you can earn more from this winter side hustle by offering to deliver or packaging them up in adorable holiday tins and packaging. This is also the kind of side hustle you can keep going throughout the year. Print up some business cards and remind your customers you make special occasional treats for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and more.
Parent’s Night Out Group Babysitting
Why charge $15 an hour to babysit one or two kids when you can make $300 a night for a special babysitting event? Charge families $3 to $40 per child for a holiday-themed group activity while they go holiday shopping or out to a party. Plan for holiday cookie decorating, games, and a movie for a pajama party. You’ll need another helper for this winter side hustle, or you can just take in a few kids in your own home and keep all the profit to yourself.
Holiday Pop-Up Stands
Money flows freely during the gift-giving season at flea markets and pop-up stands. You can look into renting a kiosk at a mall or retail center or setting up a table at a local flea market. Think about low-cost items with higher margins, like jewelry, gift wrap and cards, small toys, and handmade items. Attract more customers with a free coloring book station for kids while parents browse. Or offer free treats and cups of hot chocolate for your shoppers.
Christmas Tree Clean-Up and Removal
Breaking into the Christmas tree game isn’t always easy. You need a vendor and a prime location to sell trees. But focusing on the clean-up and removal when the holidays are done solves a major pain point and is in high demand. Offer to take down decorations, take the tree to the curb or local dump, and clean up the mess it leaves behind. You can earn more by offering a complete holiday clean-up service that breaks down all decorations and packs them up for storage or takes them to a local charity for donation.
Digital or Physical Scrapbooking Services
You can do this side hustle any time of year, but it’s easier to target sentimental shoppers looking for the perfect gift during the winter holidays. Offer to comb through digital or physical photos, label and organize them, and add them to scrapbooks. They can be packaged as a physical product or put online with the help of scrapbooking software.
You can also scrapbook well into the winter months. People want mementos from their holiday season, but they’re also looking for things to do in the cold winter months. Offer to teach scrapbooking to a larger group and earn more than by selling a one-off service.
Snow Removal Services
It wouldn’t be winter without some snow. If you live in a cold climate, people are happy to pay a neighbor, friend, or someone in their community to come and deal with their snow. You can provide a one-off service on a site like Facebook Marketplace or Network. But to earn a lot, offer it as an automatic retainer service. Anytime the snow accumulates past a certain amount, guarantee that you’ll be out shoveling their driveway in the early morning hours before work.
Knitting Classes
There’s something about winter that brings out the desire to become a maker. Knitting side hustles are especially popular in the winter when everyone is looking to get cozy and pass the time doing something productive. Pick a project, like a scarf, that your group can make for the holidays. Or market your class as a way to meet those New Year’s resolutions and learn something new.
Beyond teaching, you can also package and sell knitting kits to your students. Include knitting needles, yarn, instructions, and everything someone needs to make a rewarding project.
These winter side hustles give you everything you need to make at least $1,000. They also pair well together and give you tons of ideas to stay busy while earning a big payday.