WE could all do with a little extra cash in the run-up to Christmas, and it turns out you can earn as much as £1,800 just by decorating a tree.
That’s just one of dozens of Yuletide activities you could complete in the next few weeks to earn as much as £7,550.
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Task outsourcing app Airtasker matches people looking to get everyday jobs done, like walking the dog, with people willing to do them.
At this time of year, the platform sees a flurry of festive jobs requested, offering big bucks to complete a huge variety of activities.
These vary from simple tasks like putting up lights to cooking Christmas dinner for a big group of people.
Airtasker boss Tim Fung said the average task price is usually £258.
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He told The Sun: “From present shopping and wrapping, to toy assembling, to setting up Christmas trees, decorations and more – the average task price is £258, which is 29% higher than last year.
“We also expect this to rise the closer we get to Christmas.
“It’s also a key time for an increase in Tasker sign-ups with Brits looking to make extra cash through festive side hustles.”
Tim said the team recently saw a £2,000 task posted by a customer looking for help with Christmas party celebrations.
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“Whatever your skill set, there are tasks for everyone needing to earn extra money during this time,” he added.
How much you’ll get for a task will depend on how much someone is willing to pay in the first place.
You’ll agree to a price between each other for the job, and Airtasker takes a 20% cut.
We’ve rounded up the top Christmas-related tasks currently listed on Airtasker and how much they’re worth.
A job that requires a bit more effort is to home cook a Christmas dinner, and you could earn as much as £1,500.
So if you’re willing to give up part of your Christmas Day, this could be a quick way to make over a grand in a day.
If you have a spare 14ft ladder, there’s another great job for you.
One customer is offering a whopping £1,800 to decorate a huge 14ft tree at the end of the month.
The description on this one in particular is pretty brief but it mentions needing to hang garlands.
If you have an eye for detail why stop at just a tree? One customer is offering £2,000 to decorate her home in Hertfordshire.
For those of you who fancy a bit of a challenge, another customer is offering £500 to help a Church group cook Christmas dinner for up to 100 people in early December.
Another woman is paying a £500 fee to a Tasker who decorates the inside of her home ready for the big day.
Or you could decorate two 6ft trees in a Southwark office for £50.
It’s not just big design or cooking jobs either, if you see yourself as a bit of an artist you could give up a few hours in December to paint faces.
A customer is offering £300 to a face painter to come along to a kids’ Christmas party at a London office.
Adults like to have fun too during the festive season, you could get paid £750 to do hair and makeup for staff before an office Christmas party in mid-December.
Or if you’re not keen on leaving the house and love pets, you could earn £100 cat-sitting over the Christmas break.
For those of you who don’t mind getting a little chilly, another option is to hang Christmas lights on the outside of someone’s home for £50.
All you need to do is provide the ladder.
Here’s the full list of Christmassy errands and tasks you could do for cash:
- Home-cooked Christmas dinner – £1,500
- Decorate a 14ft Christmas tree – £1,800
- Make Christmas dinner for 80-100 people – £500
- Decorate a home – £2,000
- Face painter for Christmas party – £300
- Hairdresser and makeup artist for staff at an office Christmas party – £750
- Christmas decorator – £500
- Cat sitter over Christmas period – £100
- Hang outdoors Christmas lights – £50
- Decorate two Christmas trees for an office – £50
Of course, do bear in mind that each task will have its own requirements set by the customer so make sure to read the full description of what they’re after before accepting the job.
It’s worth noting that some jobs will be better paid than others and that some will take longer than others.
Anyone who is looking to sign up to be a “Tasker” is in charge of their taxes on payments they get – there is a guide on the website for this.
Airtasker isn’t the only platform where you can earn extra cash for doing odd jobs.
TaskRabbit works in a similar way and lets users hire temporary workers to deliver packages or clean homes.
This site also takes a fee – when you book a task, you can see Tasker’s hourly rates.
This hourly rate is inclusive of the hourly rate a Tasker sets and the TaskRabbit service fee.
The service fee is a percentage of the total price you pay for your task.
Meanwhile, we reveal eight side hustles to make extra cash – you can do most from home, and they take just hours.
Plus, these are the jobs nobody wants to do – but pay £55k and you don’t need a degree.
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