Make Money This Holiday Season; Don’t Just Spend It

What if you could make more money than you spend this holiday season? Soundslike a pretty good idea, you say? If you’d like to be on the making moneyend during the holidays, now is the time to start preparing. Below I’m goingto give you several money-making ideas. Pick the one or two that interestyou the most and have fun!CRAFTSIt doesn’t matter if you’re into woodworking, sewing, painting, pottery, orcreating handmade paper. More than ever, people enjoy giving thatone-of-a-kind special gift. You can sell your wares via the Net, at holidaybazaars or craft shows, or even consignment style. Once you become known foryour crafts, word-of-mouth will keep you very busy.RUBBER STAMPINGOne idea is to create your own line of holiday cards with rubber stamps.Melissa Duquette has found this to be a profitable business. She explains,“The card season is upon us and everyone will soon be searching for theperfect holiday card to send to family and friends. This is your opportunityto break out into business and create unique hand-stamped holiday cards. Orwhy not offer a class teaching this great hobby? Rubber stamping can beworked into so many different businesses.”I’ve been to a rubber-stamping party where we were able to create our owncards. I had a great time hanging out with my friends and making my ownunique cards. If you are into rubber stamping, seriously consider having arubber stamping card party. You would supply everything needed, and couldcharge either a flat fee or charge per card made.T-SHIRTSKim Moya runs a T-shirt business and finds this a way to make extra cashduring the holidays. She says you can create inexpensive holidaysweatshirts, and long- and short-sleeved T-shirts. And she doesn’t stop atT-shirts, but also includes tote bags, felt and cloth ornaments, advent andtraditional calendars, aprons and many other items that you can purchasewholesale and sell at retail prices!FLEECE BLANKETSI don’t know about you, but I love fleece blankets. I was really excitedwhen I found out I could make these awesome “Snuggly” blankets withouthaving to sew a stitch. Cinda Louden has been making these types of blanketsfor a while now and explains, “These blankets are made out of Polar Fleecematerial. They are soft, warm, cozy, durable, and wonderfully ‘Snuggly.’There's no sewing or needlework involved; all you do is cut and tie. MakingSnugglies is a great way to start and create a business, make a little extracash, or just make them for gifts. It's all up to you!”SANTA LETTERSTamaira Sandifer, the owner of Fun Mail For Kids, has been creating SantaLetters for a while now. “I thought, what child wouldn't like to get aletter in the mail full of goodies just for them from Santa Claus. Once Iinformed family and friends about starting Fun Mail For Kids, the letterspractically sold themselves. Last year brought in approximately 680requests, which is pretty phenomenal since I don't do much advertising.”Tamaira says that running this type of business is fun because it allows herto do something she really enjoys. “So it doesn't really seem like work,”she says.ONLINE AUCTIONSThe hype of eBay has not gone away, but has only grown. When among a groupof people, I can usually find someone who has either bought or soldsomething in an online auction. Colleen Wallace has made it her business tosell merchandise online. “The holiday season is the best time of year forme. People are always looking for unique and interesting gifts to give theirloved ones. What better place to find something different than the onlineauctions,” says Colleen. Start thinking about what you might have that youcould sell online. Colleen has found that the items that sell well are thosethat can be used for stocking stuffers, are limited editions, or are signeditems.BAKINGThen there are the people who cannot stop baking during the holidays. Areyou the type of person who finds that at the close of the season, all ofyour neighbors’ refrigerators and cookie jars are bursting at the seamsbecause baking is just your thing? Believe it or not, this is not thefavorite activity of some people.Stacy Robinson has found that A Holiday Home Boutique is a fun way tonetwork with others who provide a holiday-related product or service. Eachvendor displays her product or information about her service, and friendsand neighbors are invited to come to shop and share fellowship.“As a cake decorator, I sell gingerbread houses, as well as display andserve a holiday-themed decorated cake - which the hostesses love becausethis becomes part of the refreshments! Visitors to the boutique get a chanceto taste and see my cakes, and I take orders for holiday party cakes. I alsodisplay a few ‘dummy cakes’ to showcase my designs for birthdays, weddings,etc.”The niche market that has been Stacy’s holiday bread and butter since 1991is selling gingerbread houses to real estate agents. She leaves agingerbread house with order information in large real estate offices for afew days. She also offers free delivery to the real estate office, ordelivery for a fee to their home-buying customers and other colleagues, suchas mortgage brokers, closing attorneys, etc.PLAN IT RIGHTThese are just a few ideas you can use to make a little extra cash thisholiday season. Use your imagination. Remember, people are more than willingto spend money for that special gift and holiday service. Why can’t you bethe one who pockets that money? This is such a great time of year to makeyour business work.Another great reason to consider this type of seasonal work: If you plan itright, you shouldn’t be working too close to or on the actual holiday. Beingyour own boss has never sounded better, now has it?Start thinking now if you want this to be seasonal work, or if you want tocontinue your business into the new year. All of the business ideas I listedabove can be run throughout the year. This could be the start of somethingvery profitable!Additional Resources:Ebooks are available on each of the subjects listed above, and each ebookcontains more information on starting that particular business. Theyinclude:* Bizy’s Guide To: Making Snugglies! A Step-by-Step Guide to Making andStarting Your Own Fleece Blanket Business - By Cinda Louden* Bizy’s Guide To: How to Create a Profitable Cake Decorating Business“From Scratch” - By Stacy Robinson* Bizy’s Guide To: Making Money With Online Auctions - By Colleen Wallace* Bizy’s Guide To: Starting Your Own Personalized Letter Service For Kids -By Tamaira Sandifer* Bizy's Guide on How to Start and Operate A Home-Based T-Shirt Business -By Kimberly Banfield Moya* Bizy’s Guide To: Starting a Rubber Stamping Business - By MelissaDuquetteYou can purchase any of these ebooks at:http://www.bizymoms.com/main/?10000!1001


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Liz Folger is a work-at-home expert and author of "The Stay-at-Home Mom'sGuide To Making Money From Home." Her book is available at your favoritebookstore, such as www.amazon.com or by calling 800-632-8676. Liz has alsocreated a resource site for work-at-home parents at http://www.bizymoms.com.When you visit, don't forget to sign-up for the free Bizymoms newsletter.