10 Christmas Jobs to Consider In 2024

Got extra time on your hands this Christmas and think of using it wisely? Went broke buying Christmas presents and want to bounce back? Simply need extra cash for whatever reason?

Check out our list of 10 seasonal Christmas jobs to consider this year with average salaries taken from several sources.

#1. Mall Santa Claus

Remember that white-bearded man in a shopping mall who sat you on his lap and asked you to make a wish? Good news: now you can become one! It’s December, and malls are hiring Santas all over the countries where Christmas is actively celebrated. All you need to do is spend a lot of time wearing a wig and a polyester suit that makes you sweat, mostly sit in the same place, and, of course, talk to kids a lot. Sounds tedious but relatively easy, right?

Average salary: $60/hour on ZipRecruiter, $31/hour on Salary.com, $41.71 on Payscale 

Best for: guys who like kids (or at least aren’t scared of them)

Also, it really depends on the mall — here’s interesting intel we found on Reddit:

#2. Christmas Elf

Here’s a more gender-neutral Christmas position — a Christmas Elf. Like the aforementioned Santa role, it requires dressing up, playing a character, and entertaining children. Aside from that, being an elf includes customer service responsibilities. This means ensuring every child has a present and dealing with extraordinary situations like children pulling Santa’s beard to make sure it’s real.

Average salary: $20.19/hour (median) on Glassdoor

Best for: people with customer service experience and at least some acting talent

#3. Holiday babysitter

Who looks after the kids when their parents are out for a Christmas party? Maybe you! Short-term Christmas nanny listings can vary from one day/one night to the entire holiday break and involve the same responsibilities as a regular babysitter — except for an occasional grotto trip, eating junk, and watching rubbish with your employer’s kids.

Average salary: not a lot of data; there’s a questionable average of $24/hour on ZipRecruiter and $27.40 (median) on Glassdoor for regular babysitting jobs

Best for: people who don’t have a lot of free time, people who are good with kids but can’t deal with an entire shopping mall of them

#4. Seasonal salesman

During December, many shopping malls and stores that do fine during other seasons need more staff members on Christmas, so everyone gets to buy gifts and necessary holiday equipment without standing in lines or spending hours waiting for help. Aside from staff expansion, some unique seasonal sales rep vacancies open during the period — for example, a Christmas tree salesman position. 

Average salary: $19.71/hour (median) on Glassdoor

Best for: resilient people who can survive the Christmas bustle

#5. Christmas light installer

Decorations on almost every building and tree in your town don’t appear from thin air overnight — and you can contribute to the miracle! There are many Christmas light installer listings out there, and some even offer on-the-job training, which is perfect for people with little to no experience. So, unless you’re scared of a little ladder work, why not?

Average salary: $27.14/hour on ZipRecruiter, $17.79/hour (median) on Glassdoor

Best for: handy people with no fear of heights

#6. Christmas musician

If you’re building a music career, this year’s Christmas break is a great way for you to earn extra cash and invest it in your advancements later. Your opportunities depend on what instrument you play. For example, pianists (especially those with formal training) can apply for church organist positions, and singers are free to apply for choir positions. Restaurants and other venues hosting Christmas events are also actively looking for bands and singers to perform and create the holiday spirit.

Average salary: $27.76/hour on ZipRecruiter, over $100/hour (regular gig musicians) according to a Reddit thread, and up to $700 per gig for Christmas gigs according to another Reddit thread

Best for: mostly musicians with cover bands or those ready to quickly create or join one

#7. Christmas packer

Christmas is a busy time for online and offline retailers, so warehouses and stores are actively looking for order packers. Don’t mistake it for a gift wrapper job — this one is a bit more boring: you simply pack the orders, nothing creative. The downside is that many employers require working at odd hours, for example, at night.

Average salary: $19.23/hour (median) on Glassdoor (regular warehouse packer), $16/hour on ZipRecruiter (regular warehouse packer)

Best for: people who are ready to work night shifts

#8. Delivery driver

If you don’t feel like hanging out at the warehouse all day all night, here’s a better option — retailers are often looking for seasonal delivery drivers as well. It’s not different from the job of a regular delivery driver, except for maybe busier work days and some Christmas decorations in your (or rented) vehicle. Just for the holiday spirit, you know. 

Average salary: $38/hour on ZipRecruiter (specifically for Amazon delivery), $24.52/hour (median) on Glassdoor (regular delivery driver)

Best for: resilient folks with a driver's licence and at least some driving experience

#9. Winter sports instructor

Some winter sports facilities like ice skating rinks and ski schools look for extra part-time instructors for the holidays to meet the increased demand. These positions have a slightly higher entry threshold than others we mentioned on the list. However, in most cases, you’ll have to teach beginners and children, so the basic level of skiing or ice skating is more than enough.

Average salary: $41.83/hour on Glassdoor (median for regular ski instructors), $27.40/hour on Glassdoor (median for regular ice skating instructors)

Best for: People skilled at winter sports and teaching

#10. Photographer

During the holiday season, malls and venues look for part-time photographers. In shopping centers, photographers take pictures for visitors in Santa grottos. In restaurants and event venues, event photographers are needed. If you’re skilled at photography, own a decent camera, and don’t have a problem with submitting photos the night after the event, this is the job for you.

Average salary: around $20/hour on ZipRecruiter (mall Santa photographers), $31.73 on Glassdoor (for regular event photographers), and up to $400/hour according to a Reddit thread

Best for: freelance photographers, especially those with event shooting experience and a proper portfolio

Tips to land a seasonal Christmas job in 2024

Seasonal jobs are highly competitive, despite relatively low hourly rates and tough working conditions. Here are some tips to get a dream project and extra cash:

• Start searching early (but it’s not mandatory). Many sources suggest searching for a Christmas job as early as late August. However, there are many urgent vacancies, especially in service jobs like sales or babysitting, so you still get a chance even in the middle of December!
• Ditch Indeed — go to company websites. It’s especially relevant to those looking for service jobs in large retail chains. Instead of responding to a listing on Indeed or other job websites, go directly to Christmas job-related landing pages like this one from Marks&Spencer and apply for a job directly. That way, your application has a higher chance of getting noticed.
• Protect yourself with documents. There are many Christmas job scams out there, and if you get yourself into one, papers will protect you in court. For example, write a freelance contract to sign with your employer. 

Wrapping up

Many companies struggle with an increased workload during the Christmas season — for you, it’s a great opportunity to get a temporary seasonal job and earn a quick buck. Most jobs like these are service jobs like warehouse packing, delivery, or sales. However, creative folks can land art-related gigs like playing music at events or working as an event or mall photographer.

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Merry Christmas and good luck with your job hunting!

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