AN entrepreneurial mum has revealed how she’s covered the cost of Christmas by turning her hobby into a creative side-hustle.
The arts and crafts side hustle now earns her more than £2,000 a year, after setting it up in the pandemic.
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Topping up your earnings by taking on an extra income is becoming increasingly popular as people struggle with the cost of living.
Lara Christie, who lives in Bromley with her husband, and two daughters, aged six and nine, has been building her side hustle for the past three years in a bid to help boost the family finances.
Her main job is working as a delivery and change manager for a consultancy company, and she works around 35 hours a week.
But Lara’s side hustle has ended up being far more lucrative than she could have imagined.
Read more on extra cash
The 40-year-old told The Sun: “I make cards, stationery, prints and homeware, such as tea towels.
“I also do original artwork, including hand-painted mini tree decorations. I sell these at local craft and Christmas fairs.
“This isn’t my main source of income, but now that it brings in around £2,000 a year, it has really helped top up the household bank balance.”
Although she makes cash on the side all year round, making a profit after taking into account the cost of things like supplies, things really ramp up over the festive season, as many of the items she sells have a Christmas theme.
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“My side hustle capitalises on the festive season,” said the mumpreneur.
“Business gets especially busy in the run-up to December 25, as that’s when people start getting serious about actually buying gifts.”
In addition to small craft items and homeware, Lara also produces bespoke commissions which she sells at local arts and crafts fairs.
This includes selling her artwork at Bromley’s Gingham Beach craft market in Bromley.
She added: “One of my top-paying gigs involved producing some artwork for a local café, earning me around £400.
I also got involved in designing a book cover for chef-turned-butcher, Paul Grout, where I was partly paid in meat.
“Things like this are all part of the reason I love my side hustle so much.”
Lara began her venture back in 2020, just before the start of the pandemic.
“I went to art college when I was 18, but didn’t really do anything particularly creative for some years after that,” she said.
“Then, when I found myself laid up at home with a broken foot, just before Covid took hold, I picked up my art stuff and began drawing again – and it kind of just spiralled from there.”
‘Spending money for all the presents’
From these early beginnings, things grew and grew into a very successful side hustle.
“Things have really mushroomed since setting up my online store and starting to build my customer base,” said Lara.
“In addition to selling in-person at craft fairs, my online presence helps me to market my products more quickly and easily.”
Lara now relies on the extra cash she makes from her start-up to help make ends meet.
“We’ve really felt the cost of energy bills and food bills increasing in recent years,” she said.
“I do our weekly shop at Lidl, and it’s gone up from around £120 a week to nearly £200 – without me putting any extra items in the trolley.”
Lara had been particularly worried about affording Christmas.
“I have a full-time job, and my husband works full-time as a teacher, but we’ve definitely felt strapped for cash at times,” she said.
“My side hustle only really gears up from the beginning of December, and so we’ve been very grateful for the extra cash coming in over the past few weeks.”
This has gone a long way towards covering the cost of Christmas for the family.
“My side hustle has brought in spending money for all the presents we needed to buy and will help pay for lots of our festive expenses,” said Lara.
“Thanks to the extra income over the past few years, we’ve also been able to afford the odd mini-break to Center Parcs.
“And it’s helped us meet the cost of things such as karate club for the girls.”
Lara’s eldest daughter is already showing signs of following in her mum’s footsteps.
“Fenella is really arty – and entrepreneurial” said Lara.
“She makes things like bracelets and sells these alongside my items at local craft fairs. She can often make £40 at an event.
“This is a really good way to teach my girls about how, if you’re prepared to put the work in, you can really reap the rewards.”
While it can vary across the year, Lara typically devotes several hours a week to her venture.
You can easily turn your passion into a very welcome additional stream of income
Lara Christie
“As well as making items, I have to do all the printing and packaging,” said the side hustle supremo.
“You have to be prepared to work really hard when running your own business alongside a day job.”
Lara’s main job is full-time, but she does get Friday afternoons off.
She said: “On a Friday, I often sit down and start working on one of my commissions between leaving work and going on the school run.”
One of the non-negotiables for Lara is ensuring the items she sells are fairly priced.
“I really appreciate the additional income, but I’m not greedy,” she said.
“Part of the joy of my side hustle is being able to produce gifts which are affordable. I want to make people smile when they buy something they love at a reasonable price.
“For example, I sell prints for £6, colouring books for £2, and bookmarks from just 50p.”
Lara is one of a growing band of entrepreneurs looking to boost their finances with a Christmassy side hustle.
In fact, new research from GoDaddy, a services platform which helps entrepreneurs start, grow and scale their businesses, reveals that more than four in 10 Brits (41%) will be launching a festive venture this year.
More than nine in 10 (92%) will do it out of necessity to cope with the cost-of-living crisis. This includes a huge 94% who are employed full-time.
Two thirds of Brits hope to generate up to £500 in December thanks to their side hustle.
Many people will be ‘first-time festive founders,’ according to GoDaddy, with three-quarters planning to launch their first business this month.
Popular options include self-made goods (such as arts, crafts, toys and decorations), personal care services (such as festive make-up and nails), and pet-related offerings, including pet-sitting.
If all goes well this year, more than half plan to re-open their festive side hustle ahead of Christmas 2024.
Laura’s top tips for starting YOUR side-hustle
While Lara did go to art college, she says that anyone who is creative – or who feels they have a bit of artistic talent – could think about setting up a side hustle.
“My advice is just to ‘go for it,’” she said.
“You just need to be willing to put the time and effort in. But if you do, you can easily turn your passion into a very welcome additional stream of income.”
Right now, Lara is not looking for her venture to become a primary source of income.
“For me it’s about generating some extra money for the festive season, and to help meet the cost of other expenses throughout the year,” she said. “But I do dream about one day having my own shop – with a studio attached.”
We previously told how a business expert shared their top tips for turning your side hustle into a small start-up. We’ve also rounded up some of the most popular side hustles that anyone can turn their hand to.
While side hustles have become an increasingly popular way for people to boost their finances, it’s important to know where you stand on tax.
Read more on The Sun
Under current rules, if your venture generates less than £1,000 per tax year (from April 6 in one year until April 5 in the next), you will not need to pay any tax on your earnings.
If, however, you earn more than that in 12 months, you’ll need to fill out a self-assessment tax return to declare that income – and pay income tax on it.
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