Seven Small Jobs for Students Over the Holidays

Fa la la la la. ‘Tis the season to find a job. The winter job market is just as lucrative—if not more—than the summer one, especially for students looking for a short gig over the holidays.

There are a variety of winter seasonal jobs for students, if you know where to look.

Let’s take a closer look at seven jobs that will brighten up your winter holiday:

1. Santa Claus

If the season so moves you, suit up and apply for a Santa job.

There’s no job more important than Santa at the holiday season. Kids the world over wait in long lines just to get a glimpse and a chance to tell you what they want for Christmas.

Tips for success? Nonstop jolliness combined with extreme patience as you deal with children of all ages—and their parents.

Must be able to sustain large amounts of merriment for long hours and be able to wear the suit with joy and cheer.

2. Photography Assistant

For Santa, of course. If you have great interpersonal skills, the ability to stay organized, and a cheerful, joyful way about you for hours on end, then you may have a mini-seasonal career as a photography assistant for Santa at your local shopping center.

You might be studying customer service or have some administrative experience, or just love the idea of bringing your winning personality to deck the halls with photos of children with Santa.

3. Christmas Market

Before you start jumping up and down with excitement, make sure that there’s a Christmas market in your vicinity. Also think: seasonal Christmas shop. Several of them pop-up during the holiday season, especially around holiday-time.

Requirements? Friendly, outgoing, personable, cheerful, and willing to work hard. You’ll (yule) need a healthy dose of Christmas spirit, too, as the hours are often long—but worth it.

4. Christmas Trees

Start your own, or go work for someone who sells Christmas trees every year. It will be short—and lucrative.

Why? No matter how bad the economy is, no matter the states of financial lives, people buy Christmas trees.

About a quarter of Christmas tree customers get their trees from farms, and about 70 percent buy theirs from retail stores or seasonal lots. The rest buy theirs online.

If you have some capital, you can start your own business. To do that, first find a supplier. Run a Google search on tree farms and see how far you get. Make a few contacts, ask about bulk pricing, compare some quotes, and then look into renting a lot.

Lot rental can be tricky—if you can’t find a place, then you may want to consider working at one.

Requirements? Hard working, personable, and able to move large quantities of trees. This job requires manual labor!

5. Gift Wrapper

Willing to make small talk while wrapping and trimming gifts? Are you talented with ribbon? Can you work quickly and pleasantly? Get a job at your local shopping center as a gift wrapper. Do a good job, and you’ll make great tips, too.

If you tend to lose your patience and aren’t so great with tape and scissors, this job is not for you.

If it’s something you can handle, get your application in—and watch some holiday dollars roll in.

6. Mail Sorter

The Christmas season is perhaps one of the postal service’s largest—and they’re always looking for help.

In the UK, the Royal Mail hires an extra 20,000 people to support its regular staff with jobs unloading mail from vans, and sorting packages and letters.

Job requirements? A little bit of planning—apply in the fall, and the ability to work quickly and efficiently.

7. Babysitting or Pet-sitting

It’s the most wonderful time of the year—and families often need more help than usual with kids and pets. If you have some free evenings and weekends in November and December, put yourself out there and make yourself available to friends and their friends. Don’t forget to share your information with any nearby resorts or hotels looking for extra babysitting help.

Requirements include prior experience babysitting and/or pet-sitting, and patience. References won’t hurt here, either.

There you have it—small, easy jobs to find during the holidays. You won’t regret it.