The cold months of the year get quite boring, while the upcoming holidays create anxiety about upcoming expenses. Starting a winter side hustle is a great way to combat both issues by transforming lonely winter evenings into active ways to earn extra cash.
Winter is a great time to start a side gig, not just because of the abundance of free time. Winter side hustles can have a seasonal aspect to them that you can make use of. There are at least seventeen great options you can start right away. We listed them all below.
Best Indoor Winter Side Hustles
1. Data Entry & Transcription
Providing freelance data entry or transcription services is a great side hustle all year round, but it’s extra appealing in the winter. There’s little motivation to go outside because of the harsh weather, so staying indoors and earning extra money for Christmas gifts is a great option.
Upwork, Fiverr, and similar platforms have plenty of such opportunities, especially before the end of the year when full-time employees are busy with other tasks. You don’t need much training either. Most of the time, you can make do with a good understanding of the English language and earn from $10 to $25 per hour.
2. Freelance Writing & Blogging
Freelance writing for companies or creating your own blog has always been a go-to way to earn extra cash online. Freelancing platforms are full of job posts, so if you have a knack for writing and can do it efficiently, you should consider it as a side hustle.
Winter-specific writing niches, such as Christmas gifts, decorations, or winter recipes, are booming near the end of the year. While AI has created some anxiety, good writers are always in demand. Build your portfolio, orientate it towards holiday niches, and it will be a great winter side hustle, earning from $100 per piece.
3. Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistants cover administrative, organizational, data entry, creative, and a whole bunch of other tasks for companies. Work is done on a project basis, so you don’t have long-term responsibilities and can manage time yourself. It’s a great winter side hustle since most tasks can be completed in the evenings without much training.
You will earn more if you have some valuable skills, such as coding basics or working with spreadsheets. Winter time is busy for companies, so virtual assistants are in high demand. You can expect to earn more than the usual $20 per hour during the holiday season.
4. Print-on-Demand Services
Print-on-demand is a business model that allows you to sell your creative designs (e.g., t-shirts, hoodies, cups, phone cases) without doing the printing itself. Platforms like Printify and Printful take care of the service so you can focus on the designs.
It’s a perfect fit for a winter side hustle since many individuals and companies are looking for original gift ideas. If you know your way around design tools and can think of original Christmas items, try it out. You can earn hundreds alone during the holiday season.
5. Passive Income Apps
Setting up and testing a passive income strategy is a great winter side hustle. You spend a lot of time at home anyway, so why not turn it into something that can earn extra cash during the summer as well?
Renting an Airbnb, starting a blog, or starting a YouTube channel are all great options that require some knowledge and capital. Pawns.app offers a passive income source that barely requires any of that: internet bandwidth sharing.
All you need is a device with a separate internet connection (IP address) and the Pawns app installed. You flip a switch, and the device starts earning $0.2$ per gigabyte shared. No personal data is shared; your phone merely acts as an intermediary for others to bypass online restrictions.
Best Outdoor Winter Side Hustles
6. Snow Removal
There’s hardly anything more in demand than snow removal services during the winter. You can be sure your neighbors will need someone to clean driveways, porches, pavements, and even rooftops.
Keep an eye on the forecast, be ready before the snow starts to fall, and promptly offer your services to local households. It’s the best winter side hustle for those who want extra money and some physical exercise outdoors. Just keep in mind that shoveling snow requires much more than a simple shovel.
Warm clothes, shoes with spikes, salt spreaders, snow pushers, snowblowers, and even a skid steer can come in handy. Good equipment will enable you to safely complete snow removal and accept larger projects. A standard rate of $10 per hour can quickly grow if you take snow removal seriously.
7. Holiday Decorating Services
Shoveling snow or other physically intense winter side hustles aren’t for everyone. More creative people will find holiday decorating services for households, stores, or public places a great alternative.
There is also a spike in demand during the winter months, especially in December, but a lot of preparatory work can be done before winter. Sometimes, it works to brainstorm ideas and make decorations at home before going to locations.
It can be a huge source of extra income if you have experience in design. Starting out without it might be difficult as you’ll first need to work for recommendations. Yet, holiday decorating services are worth the trouble as you can earn thousands of dollars from one large project.
8. Pet Walking & Sitting
Holidays can be a stressful time for pets as well. Frequent traveling, especially in the cold weather, can even be unhealthy. That’s why pet owners are frequently looking for viable alternatives to walk their dogs while they are away or even accept them into makeshift pet hotels.
Reach out to your neighbors, post on local social media groups, or use apps like Rover to find clients. You’ll need to prepare your house if you are willing to accept pets from other people. Dog walking is easier in this regard as you only need to create a suitable schedule for you and the owners.
Pet walking is significantly less profitable for earning extra money than pet sitting, but it’s also easier. Most dog owners already have clothes and other essentials for walking their dogs in the cold. Pet sitting can provide much more extra income, but you’ll also need to invest in transforming your own house.
9. Winter Farmer’s Market Seller
Big shopping malls and online stores are not the only targets for holiday shoppers. During the holiday season, more and more people are looking for unique gifts and treats to purchase.
If you enjoy arts and crafts, selling your creations is a great winter side hustle. Homemade holiday decorations, toys, cookies, beverages, and everything else are bound to sell well. The best part is that you don’t need fancy marketing or an online store to start earning money.
The best winter shopping spots are the Winter Farmers Market, which is located near the Christmas tree. Tickets can be purchased from the local government for a small fee or sometimes even free. Just be sure to take care of it early on.
Best Online Winter Hustles
10. Social Media Management for Holiday Campaigns
The holiday season is as busy online as it is in the real world. Companies and influencers post and engage with their audiences much more. Even answering the comments on a popular page might take up a lot of time. That’s why there’s a big demand for social media managers during and before winter.
It’s especially profitable if you transform it into a winter side hustle, creating effective holiday campaigns with scheduled thematic posts. Good social media managers can easily earn a couple of thousand per month, but with holiday campaigns, you can expect to earn extra money due to higher demand.
11. Online Tutoring (Seasonal Subjects or Skill Building)
The holiday season is also the start of the exam season in most colleges, schools, and universities. If you are a professional in your field, chances are you can help students to pass exams. With online tutoring platforms like Preply, TutorMe, and MyprivateTutor, it’s easier than ever to become one for a winter side hustle.
Your earnings depend on qualifications. Certified teachers and those knowledgeable in exam prep will earn more, but you can make some extra cash without it, as well. For example, many native speakers can help with conversational practice and earn money for it without much accreditation.
12. Etsy Winter Crafts Store
During the holiday season, Etsy has a special Winter Crafts section where you can sell your unique handmade pieces. Home decorations, wrapping papers, Christmas tree toys, and many other holiday-themed items are selling very well there. Even if you don’t sell your arts and crafts on Etsy during the year, it’s easy to start.
Registering and creating a shop takes a couple of minutes, and with good photos and descriptions, items are bound to sell well. Etsy sellers are making bank during the holidays, with some earning thousands during the last quarter of the year alone.
13. Dropshipping Winter Essentials
If you’re not into crafting, you can sell Christmas or winter-themed items from suppliers. Toys, clothing, advent calendars, Christmas lights, books, kitchen accessories, phone cases, and many other items sell well during the winter. By implementing dropshipping methods, you can fulfill orders without storing or shipping the items yourself.
Once the customer makes an order, you simply forward it with a payment to the supplier, and he delivers it to the customer. Your part here is creating an e-commerce store and marketing with the best selection of winter-themed goods. The end of the year is an especially fitting time to start such a side hustle since you can earn extra money due to increased demand.
Quick Gigs You Can Pick Up Anywhere
14. Delivery Services (UberEats, DoorDash)
No list side hustle list is complete without delivery services. It’s one of the easiest gigs you can pick up almost instantly by downloading an app and finding a suitable means of transport. The latter is more difficult in winter since you cannot use a bicycle, which is usually the most economical choice.
The increased demand for food and goods delivery services outweighs such a hurdle. Many people stay indoors more often or simply don’t have the time to shop at the end of the year. Find appropriate clothes for the weather, prepare your car, especially tires, and you’ll be fine earning extra cash delivering food.
15. Mystery Shopping
Stores need to be at the top of customer service during the holiday season. While everyone is in good spirits, the amount of buyers is bound to create problematic situations. Serious companies take steps to prevent bad customer service, and one of the ways to achieve this is with mystery shoppers.
As a mystery shopper, your task is to visit a store, purchase its goods or services, and give extensive feedback to upper management about your experience. Knowing pain points gives them an edge over the competition, and companies are willing to pay for it. Mystery shoppers earn from $7 to $30 for one visit.
16. Seasonal Retail Jobs
Another method to increase customer service in retail stores is to simply hire more employees. There isn’t that much work all year, so companies tend to hire seasonal workers. You’ll be opening packages, resupplying shelves, working as a cashier, and performing any other tasks that are in demand.
It’s one of the best-paid winter side hustles, as retail stores pay more for seasonal workers because of higher profits during this time. You can find seasonal retail jobs on common employment platforms like Indeed. Look for temporary offers marked as seasonal and be prepared to start work quickly.
17. Gift Wrapping Services
Out of all winter side hustles, gift wrapping is the most fitting for this season. Everybody is buying gifts, but not everyone has the time and skills to wrap them properly. Your best bet for finding such work is to contact local shopping malls. Most organize their own wrapping stands and look for employees.
If they don’t, a good idea is to offer them such services. You might need to pay a bit for the space and buy your own materials, but with clever pricing, you are sure to earn enough money to turn a profit. Earnings from gift-wrapping gigs are usually better than your typical nine-to-five.
Conclusion
The most important part is starting to practice the winter side hustle you choose. Pick the one closest to your liking, and if you struggle with motivation, start one that’s the easiest way to earn money. Indoor winter side hustles, such as those offered by Pawns.app, are some of the most accessible.
