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New Year’s Eve can be a lot of fun, no matter how you choose to celebrate. You can go big with fancy plans, or you can go small and stay in for the evening (along with almost 50% of all Americans).
In fact, most people spend less than $200 on their New Year’s Eve plans, according to WalletHub. But did you know that you can actually make money on New Year’s Eve, too?
If you’re one of the 20% who doesn’t ring in the new year in any particular way, you’ve got a great opportunity to make some serious cash. But not everything on this list will require you to give up your plans — you can pick up some extra cash and have plenty of time to celebrate however you’d like.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. Cater, Cook, and/or Deliver
Lots of people like to have a nice dinner party on the last evening of the year. If you’ve got cooking skills, you can advertise your services as a caterer or an in-home chef. You could also look for a temp job working with an established caterer, to help in the kitchen or work as a server. Some restaurants may also be looking for temp workers to handle the NYE influx, if you’d rather work for an establishment.
Another thing you can do to pick up some easy money on New Year’s Eve is deliver take-out. Lots of people enjoy staying in for New Year’s and will order out. There are apps like Seamless and GrubHub that will pay you to deliver someone’s takeout order, but it might be a little late to set up an account there. That shouldn’t stop you, though!
If you know a great local place that gets a lot of takeout orders and has an email list or social media presence, get in touch with a manager or owner at a popular takeout place in your town and offer to be their one-night delivery driver. They can advertise their delivery special, and you can charge a delivery fee on top of each order — or you and the restaurant can work out whatever terms you’d like.
2. Be a Bartender
New Year’s Eve is commonly thought of as the most drunken night of the year, mostly because the concentration of people toasting and partying is higher on this one night than it is on your typical evening. That means that any place with a bar will be extremely busy, and they may be looking for extra hands.
If you know a lot of mixed drinks, or you’re willing to study up on drink recipes, you could make a lot of money in tips as a bartender on New Year’s Eve. The best way to land this type of position is to go and visit the establishment in person and speak with someone who makes the hiring decisions.
3. Perform
Whether you’re a singer, musician, or an entertainer, you can find all kinds of opportunities to perform on New Year’s Eve. Whether it’s a huge event (like a festival or a block party) or a smaller get-together of friends and families, New Year’s Eve parties can be a goldmine for you.
Magic tricks, dancing, or singing and playing your guitar — whatever performance skill you have, people will want it!
4. Be a Sitter
Whether you’re taking care of someone’s house, kids, or pets, you can pick up some extra cash as a sitter. Lots of folks like to “live it up” ringing in the new year, and that could mean being away for many hours. Fill in the gaps by walking the dogs and taking care of the kids. And because it’s considered a holiday, you may be able to charge a higher rate than you typically would.
Here’s another interesting idea. If you live in a city where there are some big events going on — the type of events that require people to wait in line for long periods of time — take a stroll and offer to be a “line sitter,” holding someone’s place in line while they go get something to eat and visit the restroom. Alternatively, you could offer to be a delivery person for these folks, picking up their takeout orders and adding on a few extra dollars for a delivery fee.
5. Clean (Before and/or After)
With all the parties and events going on, people are going to want their houses cleaned. You can advertise your house-cleaning services online or around your area with fliers and social media if you want to go it alone, or make a few phone calls to the housekeeping organizations (like Molly Maids, for example) to see if they’re hiring temp workers for overflow.
People who are hosting their own parties will be interested in having their homes cleaned beforehand as well as afterward, making this an interesting opportunity to pair up with an in-home chef or caterer to prepare the home for the party, cook and serve all the food, and then put things back in order afterward.
6. Drive
Whether it’s with Uber or another driver-on-call app, driving on New Year’s Eve is a fantastic way to make some money while doing society at large a favor by keeping drunk people off the roads. (Not interested in driving but curious about what it’s like? Check out this blogger’s review of the experience.)
7. Rent Out Your Place
If you’re going to be out of town for the holiday weekend, you can consider offering up your own home for rent to incoming folks, Airbnb-style.
