Holiday Cards, Ebooks and Classes: 7 Seasonal Side Gigs

Intro

Seven ways people earn extra money this holiday season, and by the end, you'll know exactly how each one works, step by step. Some you can start from home, some out on the road. And number one is a seasonal job that doesn't need a driver's license.

7. Design holiday cards and invitations

Number seven: design holiday cards and invitations, and sell them from a store of your own. Your designs can fit greetings, parties and family gatherings. On Zazzle, you start by opening your free Zazzle store, the first step the Creators page gives. That page even lists a Holiday or Seasonal category for your work.

Zazzle Creators set their own royalty rate anywhere between the Standard Royalty Rate and the Maximum Royalty Rate. That means you decide where your rate sits inside the allowed range. For physical products, the royalty rate can run from 5% to 50%. For digital products, which are instant downloads, it can run from 5% to 99%.

The page lists a Marketing Royalty Fee, from thirty-five to 50% of gross royalties, depending on the product department. For Invitations and Stationery, that fee is 50%. An Excess Royalty Fee of 5% applies when your royalty rate is set above 10%. So the rate you choose also changes which fees apply to each sale.

Five to 50% is the royalty range you can set on physical products. That range comes from the Zazzle Help Center page on creator royalties. For example, a set of holiday cards you design would sit in the Invitations and Stationery department. There, the page lists the marketing royalty fee at 50% of gross royalties.

The fees above come out of your royalties, so they shape what you keep from each design. Selling rules and taxes on design income can differ where you live.

6. Sell holiday gifts printed on demand

Number six: sell holiday gifts printed on demand, so you can offer seasonal items without making each one yourself. It fits the weeks when people shop for presents. On Printify, you create an account, connect your store, and use the Product Creator to design items. Using it is free, with no upfront fees to get started.

You only pay for the cost of the products and shipping when an order is placed. Until then, designing and setting up your store is free, according to the help page. When an order comes in, Printify charges your linked credit card or Printify Balance for production and shipping. After payment is received, the order is sent to production.

Once the order is shipped, the tracking will be synced to your sales channel, as the help page explains. That keeps the shipping updates in the place where your customer ordered. Your profit per sale is the difference between Printify's production cost and the retail price you have set. You have full control over your retail prices, so you decide each gift's price.

$0 in upfront fees: that is what it costs to create an account, connect your store, and design with the Product Creator. For example, Printify's page shows a T-shirt that costs $12 to make, sold at twenty-four ninety-nine, for a profit of twelve ninety-nine. The page says that cost is only an illustration and changes over time. Most Printify orders ship within two to seven business days, depending on the time of year, product, and order size.

Shipping times and sales taxes can differ where you live. If guides like this help you, subscribe: every step in this video comes from each platform's own help page, linked below. Number five: publish a holiday book, such as

5. Publish a holiday book

a cookbook, a journal, or a children's book. Holiday weeks are a lovely time to share a book you have written. On Kindle Direct Publishing, you can self-publish eBooks, paperbacks, and hardcover books for free, with no cost to start. The content types the page lists include cookbooks, journals, and children's books.

To begin, you go to your Bookshelf, click the plus Create button, and choose the type of book. Then you enter book details, upload and preview your book, and set rights and pricing. For eBooks, you can choose between two royalty options: the 35% option and the 70% option. The 70% option is paid less delivery costs, and you choose for each eBook.

The 70% option only applies to books sold to customers in the countries listed on the Pricing Page. You do not need to live in one of those territories to receive it. For paperbacks, KDP now offers both a 50% or 60% royalty rate. The royalty is the royalty rate times the list price, minus printing costs, as the formula on the page shows.

70% is the figure to hold on to. It is the higher of the two eBook royalty options KDP lists, before delivery costs are taken out. By our count, a two ninety-nine eBook at the 70% option earns about $2 and nine cents, before delivery costs. That figure is 70% of the two ninety-nine price.

KDP does not allow the creation of magazines, periodicals, calendars, or spiral bound books, so those formats are off the table. Tax rules on book royalties can differ where you live.

4. Sell holiday classroom resources

Number four: sell holiday classroom resources, original materials made for teachers and learners. Seasonal themes are a friendly way to share what you've made with other educators. On Teachers Pay Teachers, or TPT, you'll find a marketplace for original educator-created content. It may include instructional resources, classroom decor, professional development, and supplies like clip art and fonts.

To sell, you create a Seller account, set up your store, upload your resources, and publish your listings. Those four steps come straight from the help page. You can set your own prices, throw sales, and explore ways to promote and market your store. So the choices about pricing and promotion stay with you.

The help page describes two seller memberships, Basic and Exclusive. Basic Seller costs a one-time, non-refundable $29, with a 55% payout rate and a thirty-cent fee per resource. Exclusive Seller costs fifty-nine ninety-five a year, with an 80% payout rate on all sales for a limited time. Then the rate becomes seventy-seven and a half percent, starting January first, 2027.

55% is the Basic payout rate to keep in mind. That is the share of each sale a Basic seller receives, before the thirty-cent fee per resource. By our count, a five-dollar resource with a Basic membership pays two seventy-five at 55%, minus the thirty-cent fee: two forty-five. The thirty-cent fee comes off after the percentage is applied.

The Basic fee is one-time and non-refundable, and the Exclusive membership means selling those digital educational resources only on TPT. Tax rules on this income can differ where you live. That's past the halfway mark: cards, gifts, books and classroom resources so far. The last three are about teaching and delivering, and the best is last.

3. Teach a short class over the school break

Number three: teach a short class over the school break. It's a warm way to share what you know with curious learners while school is out for the holidays. On Outschool, classes are welcome on all subjects and in all formats, for learners ages one to eighteen. The page suggests short-form introductory classes that meet one to four times.

Educators set their own class times, and there are no minimum or maximum teaching hours required. The support page also says that demand for classes can fluctuate with seasons. Teaching needs an internet connection of at least three Mbps. You also need a computer that can run the video conferencing software Outschool uses.

To apply, you head to the apply page on Outschool's site. The apply page is the starting point the Prospective Educator FAQ gives for anyone who wants to teach. Outschool collects a 30% Teacher Fee from all paid enrollments, but there are no additional costs to teach. Payment is sent seven to thirteen days after your class is scheduled to start.

30% is the Teacher Fee, the share Outschool collects from every paid enrollment. It is the only cost the page lists for teaching on Outschool. By our count, on a twenty-dollar enrollment, the 30% fee is $6, leaving fourteen. So the fee is taken from each paid enrollment and you keep what's left.

Teaching is open only to full-time residents of the countries that Outschool lists on its Prospective Educator FAQ page. Rules for teaching children online can differ where you live.

2. Deliver holiday packages with your own car

Number two: deliver holiday packages with your own car, in time blocks you choose. Each block shows its hours before you reserve it. On Amazon Flex, you use your own vehicle and the app to deliver Amazon packages. You pick the delivery blocks that fit your schedule.

At times, Amazon may also look for drivers to deliver for a limited time over busy holiday seasons. That is why this way fits so well with the holidays. The steps are: download the app, set up your account, reserve offers for delivery blocks, and make deliveries. That is the order on the Amazon Flex page.

You choose delivery blocks up to a week in advance. Each offer shows when you deliver, for how long, and what it pays before you begin. The page asks drivers to be twenty-one or older with a valid license, a qualifying vehicle, and a smartphone. A four-door, midsize sedan or larger works, and a background check includes motor vehicle records.

Three to six hours is the typical delivery block. That is how long you would plan to be out delivering in one reserved block, according to the Amazon Flex page. For example, a weekday evening block in early December would show its hours and earnings before you reserve it. That lets you plan the week around deliveries instead of guessing.

The page says that if you've joined the interest list, it means there are no delivery spots available in your region right now. Driver rules can differ where you live.

1. A seasonal Driver Helper job with UPS

Number one: a seasonal Driver Helper job with UPS, and no driver's license is required. It's a hands-on way to be part of the holiday delivery season. On UPS Jobs, Driver Helpers ride along with a Package Delivery Driver in the famous brown trucks. They help get packages of all shapes and sizes exactly where they need to be.

It's a lot of in and out of the truck, making deliveries and greeting customers. Helpers do not drive the brown truck themselves. Driver Helpers are seasonal UPSers only, which means they are usually only hired in October, November, and December. To start, you open the Search Jobs page on UPS's jobs site.

Stamina, reliability, the ability to lift up to seventy pounds, customer focus, and a friendly demeanor are what it takes. UPS will provide you with a reflective vest. In a seasonal role, you may work part or full-time hours, but there will be a set end date. Hours can vary, and some roles may require early morning or midnight shifts.

Seventy pounds is the most you may need to lift. The page lists lifting up to that weight as part of what the job takes. For example, a helper might ride along on an early morning route, carrying parcels from the truck to each door. That matches the page's picture of a lot of in and out.

The job has a set end date, and openings depend on where UPS is hiring Driver Helpers this season. Job rules for seasonal work can differ where you live. So, seven ways: Zazzle cards, Printify gifts, Kindle books, and Teachers Pay Teachers classroom resources. Then Outschool classes, Amazon Flex deliveries, and a seasonal UPS Driver Helper job.

Seasonal hiring and selling rules differ where you live. So open the platform's own help page first, and check what it asks for in your area. Which one would you try first? Tell us the number in the comments.

Results vary, and this is information only, not financial advice. This is Wealth Filings. Next, seven more ways people make extra money, and how each one works, linked on screen.