As the holiday season approaches, many persons will abandon the cautious spending habits they had diligently adhered to throughout the year. Engaging media advertisements, exciting party invitations and enticing Christmas fare are enough temptations to drive even the most frugal consumer into shopping overdrive.

Inevitably, after the spending sprees are over, post-season depression sets in. As January draws nearer, many people frantically wonder how they are going to pay for their holiday excesses and cover their upcoming bills. Year after year, they are filled with remorse about the one month of frenzied shopping which leaves behind eleven months of financial stress.

Is it possible to fully enjoy the holiday season without having any money regrets? Can we actually have our Christmas cake and eat it too?

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This year, instead of just focusing on the spending side of the money equation, how about looking for ways to increase your earnings? The holidays actually create opportunities to make extra money; and if you are enterprising, you can find several ways to finance your own spending needs. Even better, use the season to kick-start your income-generation plans for the New Year!

Let’s look at some practical ways to make money by selling products over the holiday period:

Garage sales

There’s something in the holiday air that encourages consumers to look out for bargains, and you can take advantage of shoppers who are out on the prowl for new acquisitions. Carry out a comprehensive audit of your belongings, clear out all the clothes, books and household items that you don’t need or use any more, and offer them at irresistible prices at a garage sale.

Personalised children’s gifts

No one wants to feel like Scrooge, so most adults feel obligated to find gifts for the young ones at Christmas time. Unfortunately, many hi-tech toys favoured by children come with high ticket prices. With an investment in a simple screen-transfer machine, you could put a child’s name or photo on items such as books, mugs, T-shirts and bags, and offer a personalized gift service.

Festive decorations

Let your creativity come alive by making unique holiday decorations with a Jamaican flavour. Look for discarded pine cones, dried flowers and unusual seeds to make wreaths, tree ornaments and other trimmings that can outshine the mass-produced designs of most store-bought decorations.

Flowers/ornamental plants

Selling potted poinsettias is definitely a winning proposition in this season, and you can also package bunches of flowers and market them as ideal gifts. You don’t actually need to plant them yourself, just find a wholesale supplier and sell them to friends and colleagues.

Christmas trees

Another seasonal money-making opportunity to exploit is the huge demand for Christmas trees. You could buy real pine trees from rural farmers for resale in the city, or find an inexpensive source for the plastic variety. If possible, provide a delivery service to your customers’ homes.

Greeting cards

If you have a flair for writing, this is a perfect time to create prose that would be suitable for greeting cards. With a little computer-aided design work, or the artistic application of locally sourced materials, you can produce eye-catching greeting cards that truly represent the spirit of the Jamaican holiday season.

Promotional giveaways

Many businesses like to give mementos to their valued customers at this time. While there are several companies that professionally produce these items, you could still tap into this market if you are talented in craft making. You could create gifts such as candles, wooden desk objects, or embroidered linen that would be appropriate for company giveaways.

Christmas cakes

Baking Christmas cake is a must for the holidays! If you have a knack for baking, you can increase your bank account instead of just your waistline by producing cakes for sale. Even if you can’t make the cakes yourself, you could buy them from a bakery and re-sell for a profit.

Seasonal foods / drink

Along with cake, the season is not complete without copious amounts of ham, sorrel and other traditionally loved foods and drinks. If you’re a star in the kitchen, don’t keep your grandmother’s secret recipes to yourself. Let your friends know that you can bake their hams or provide them with holiday drinks at a reasonable price.

Clothing

If people are going to party harder at this time, they definitely will need new clothes and shoes to look their best. With the ability to shop online or travel overseas to buy the latest styles, you could do a thriving business by selling appropriate clothes for the festivities.

These are just a few of the product lines that traditionally do well during the holiday period. Next week we will look at some services that you can offer to earn extra income.

Copyright © 2010 Cherryl Hanson Simpson. No reproduction without written consent.

Originally published in The Daily Observer,  December 9, 2010

Cherryl is a financial consultant and coach, founder of Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services. See more of her work at www.financiallyfreenetwork.com and www.financiallysmartonline.com. Contact Cherryl