Making money from home during the holiday season can alleviate some of the money pressure felt at this time of year.
Presents, special recipes, dinner parties and decorations can add up and work against your family budget.

Toddlers, home-schooling and other duties make it almost impossible to work outside the home to bring in some extra dough.
Don't lose hope! There are still many options for moms who desire to make some holiday income from the comforts of their own home.
Creating family memories on a budget is the theme of this series on Kids Activities Blog! We are giddy to be working with
Dave Ramsey's Endorsed Local Providers (ELP) program which can help you find trustworthy and competent investment advisors, realtors, insurance agents or tax services in your hometown. You can sit down and create a custom financial plan with someone you are comfortable with and that your neighbors would recommend.
Check out these options and see which one best fits your lifestyle…
12 Ways Moms Can Make Money from Home During the Holidays
Bloom where you're planted. Don't you love all the gorgeous flower arrangements around the holidays? So do thousands of other people! Many florists are looking for people willing to work from home and take flower orders and more. Check online for popular floral sites who hire seasonally. You will need a strong internet connection, a head- set and great communication skills for this opportunity.
Run a few extra errands. Let friends and neighbors know that you are willing to help them out with errands that may not fit into their holiday schedule. Picking up dry cleaning, delivering rented party equipment, shopping for additional groceries, taking things to the post office, and even gift services can be fit alongside your own errands with kids in tow. Come up with a reasonable rate and send out the word. This is one area that I often need help with during the rush.
Share your craft! Do you have a knack for making home-made Christmas crafts? Stock up on supplies and get started now making your famous, strong-scented candles or your Christmas light boxes wrapped in the perfect ribbon bow. How about ornaments? Scope out some crafts fairs and bazaars to showcase your talents. Home-made items are always in during the holidays.
Connect! With swarms of holiday sales, many companies are hiring customer sales agents to help just during the busy shopping season. Many times they require that you are able to type so many words per minute as well as demonstrate basic computer skills and knowledge.
Re-use and recycle! Go through your kid's wardrobes and see if there are any clothing items that they have outgrown. You want to look for name brands and top quality outfits. Snow boots, outer coats and jackets are great sellers too. Let your fingers do the walking and search for consignment stores in your area. Different stores have different policies for consigning clothes. Sometimes they pay you immediately, other times it is a two-month commitment and you get paid a certain percentage of the sale. Keep your eye out around the house for anything that a kid's consignment shop would sell, and if your kids don't use it, consign it!
Offer baby-sitting services. Holiday parties and shopping often leave parents wishing for a baby-sitter for just a few hours. Let your friends and family know you are willing and available during this busy time of the year. This is a great way to add playmates to your kid's day as well as make some extra cash!
Give your opinion. Answering surveys, watching videos and other small tasks can help you earn some spending money for the holiday season. There are several popular websites which offer anything from credit at online outlets to cash for just telling them what you think!
Decorate like a pro. Do you always get oohs and ahhs when you showcase your holiday decorating skills? Offer to help neighbors, friends and relatives to decorate their homes or yards for the holidays. Some people dread the thought of hanging lights outside or putting up a tree. Set a fixed rate per hour or per service so everyone knows what to expect up front. Though this job will take you away from home, you can bring your little ones to tag along or enlist a friend’s help to trade off childcare.
Cash the cards. Do you have gift cards lying around the house that you will never use? Try selling them on eBay, Craigslist or check local businesses like grocery stores who buy back these cards.
Help out in the kitchen. If you're a natural in the kitchen, put together a portfolio of your most eye-catching, mouth-watering holiday recipes. Offer cakes, dressings, twice-baked potatoes and even whole-baked turkeys. Spread the word through friends and family. Be aware that catering requires a licensed kitchen so you don't want to try to sell too large too soon until you have the technical paperwork figured out. Your schedule could fill up quickly with friends and relatives that are just too busy to cook, and need a little help with a homemade holiday meal.
Assist with gift assembly and wrapping. Anyone who has waited until Christmas eve to assemble and wrap gifts knows the horror of this situation. Remind those around you early in the season and then offer your service by the hour. You can buy wrapping supplies in bulk and deliver beautifully wrapped presents to lessen the stress of others.

Enjoy your holiday season and make some extra cash without applying for a full-time job. The bottom line is don’t be shy about offering your services to friends and family. You might be surprised how excited they are for the help. After you make that extra cash, continue making frugal spending decisions and seek to save money in all areas of your life.
Making sure you are not overpaying for taxes is another budget-friendly way to have money to spend on what is important to your family. I have found that using an
accountant for taxes is worth much more than what he charges. Not only do I have peace of mind that my yearly taxes are filed correctly, but I have someone I trust who I can call throughout the year with any questions. Since I run a small business from my home, this has come in VERY handy!
Dave Ramsey’s Endorsed Local Providers program can help you
find a tax professional in your area to be your resource and give you the information you need to make the best business decisions for your family. These professionals are all screened, rated by your neighbors, have the heart of a teacher and offer amazing customer service in your hometown.
Thanks so much to the
Endorsed Local Providers for sponsoring Kids Activities Blog and inspiring this series on creating family memories on a budget. Last week we chatted about
12 Ways to Save Money on Traveling with Kids and c
heck back next Sunday for tips on giving and choosing a charity.
TaskRabbit is another errand-running site that you can sign up for and then run errands for money. It might be easier to work with a professional errand site rather than expect your friends or relatives to pay you money for picking up their dry cleaning, going grocery shopping, etc.
Adara, I write for LMEGuides and have for well over a year. They are always there to help with any questions and are truly nice to work for. Susan keeps it very fair for everyone, unlike other places I have wrote for. Completion of pages is up to you on how many you would like to write a month. There is no time frame like get it done in 1-3 hours or between the hours of 11:00am – 1:00am. It works for me because I can fit it in with the crazy schedule I have running my kids around.
We do offer training and support – you will be mentored through the process. There is no time limit on completing pages you’ve claimed, although you can only have as many pages in your “to do” queue as you completed last month. So, if you typically write 100 pages a month, you can have 100 claimed at a time.
Susan, I am very interested in writing though I have not done any actually writing online. Do you offer training and support during the time you write for LMEGuides? Also, do you have time limits on writing pages? Like if have to be done in a few hours, a few days, that type of thing. The rev share I am good with, I understand how well it can work with a good company behind it. Tthe time frame that is my main concern.
We have a number of moms working for us from home writing content for the network of LMEGuides websites. While we pay by rev share (which can take time to build up) we also offer cash bonuses to writers who write a certain number of articles- the November cash bonus payment date is December 10. Writers will have the option to take their December bonus as an Amazon gift card, in advance of the holidays. For more information about the opportunity, check out http://www.lmeguides.com
I love the idea of running extra errands. I like making the most of trips. So that would work perfect!
These are good tips, thanks or sharing!
Great tips for increasing funds at the holidays!
Angela Cristopher, I love that you are a philanthropist too! I donate to http://www.godskids.org/voh and I support the humanitarian relief efforts after the earthquake and aftershocks and now the typhoon in the Philippines.
I donate several times a year to our local community assistance, CCA – Christian Community Action. Anything extra I have from extreme couponing, clothing, monetary….they do such wonderful things for people in our community.