For most people, it’s never too early to start thinking about Christmas. It’s the one time a year where families truly come together and try to bring a bit of happiness to each others lives. It’s not surprising that retailers rely so heavily on this period.
On average more than 25% of all yearly sales are generated in the fourth quarter across a broad range of business categories. The holiday season is big business.
So how can you take advantage of this retail bonanza? By starting an X-mas themed business. Not sure where to start?
We’ve got you covered.
Read on for 25 Profitable Christmas Business Ideas for 2023.
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1| Christmas Tree Decoration Services
It might be hard to believe, but there are people that will pay you to set up and decorate their Christmas tree. Some may not have the time in their busy schedule, they may have physical limitations or they just not be very good at it!
If you’re always receiving compliments for the amazing job you do decorating Christmas trees, this could be a great Christmas business idea for you.
Spread the world on local online marketplaces, through word of mouth and by advertising in local media.
2| Handmade Christmas Ornaments
I’m always amazed by some of the beautifully crafted ornaments friends and family have on their trees around the holiday season. I’m not talking about the generic stuff you can get at Walmart, but the one-of-a-kind handmade craft creations.
If you have the crafty skills to make personalized Christmas ornaments, you can make a ton of extra cash heading into the holiday season. It can be a great supplement for a seasonal summer business, or a great side hustle to compliment your 9 to 5.
3 Outdoor Lighting Installation – Christmas Business Ideas
If you’ve always had an amazing holiday outdoor light show that wows the neighbors, you might have a perfect idea for a Christmas business.
Most of us don’t share your lighting installation skills.
Full confession, my outdoor light set up always looks like something that was slapped up in 15 minutes — no matter how much time I spend on it. There are tons of people like me that could use your unique skill set.
4 Wreath Making Workshops
Sure you could set up a business making and selling wreaths, but wouldn’t it be more fun teaching people how to make their own through holiday workshops?
They don’t have to be in person either. You could set up live workshops via Zoom or other similar technologies and reach a wider potential marketplace.
5 Online Christmas Marketplaces
If family and friends look to you as the craft guru or woodworking genius, you may want to consider one of the more broad reaching Christmas Business Ideas. You could create an online Christmas marketplace to sell your various craft ideas.
While you’re own website would be a bonus it isn’t necessary. This type of marketplace could easily be set up on Etsy, Ebay or Shopify.
6 Subscription Box Services
You’re probably familiar with subscription box services that sell shaving related products, pet supplies and a variety of other popular items. They’re a highly successful business idea. People enjoy getting things they love without having to order something new every time.
Creating holiday themed subscription boxes is a great way to make money. The target market is already invested in the idea and you’re simply offering more of the type of thing they love. This time it just happens to have an Xmas theme.
7 Custom Holiday Themed Clothing
That ugly Christmas sweater party is always a lot of fun. It’s the one time of the year you can wear the most outrageous piece of clothing and still fit in.
If you’re skilled at sewing and embroidery this could be a great Christmas business opportunity for you. It doesn’t have to be just sweaters either. You could sell custom Christmas t-shirts as well.
The only problem with this business is you’ll have so much fun making your crazy creations, you might forget you’re actually running a business.
8 Christmas Cookie Decoration Classes (Virtual)
The opportunities for creating virtual classes around holiday themes are almost endless. Christmas cookie decoration classes are a great example.
For you, decorating Christmas cookies may be a simple thing, but for someone like me that’s more inclined to burn those cookies than anything else, you could be offering an invaluable service. If you’re the family go to for cookies at Xmas, why not share your skills with other and make some cash for your troubles as well?
9 Gourmet Gift Basket Assembly
I’m always amazed by the skill and care that goes into creating a well presented Christmas Basket. It’s not one of my talents, but if it’s one of yours then you might want to think about it as one of the best Christmas Business Ideas available to you this coming season.
Create baskets with a holiday theme and a touch of class and spread the word through social media, or by setting up shop on Etsy. Your gift basket creations can be a great money making venture leading right into December.
10 Christmas Dinner Catering Services
The holiday season is one of the busiest of the year for families — even more so if you’re hosting a big family get together. It can be stressful trying to organize that gathering in between every day commitments and snow storms.
That’s why many people are happy to turn to Christmas Dinner Catering Services as an alternative. If your cooking skills are next-level, this can be a great opportunity for you to start a business. The nice thing about a catering business is you can easily adjust to the season. When Christmas is over you can keep busy all year by offering private event catering services.
11 Specialty Holiday Treats
If you’re not satisfied with simply offering courses in cookie decoration, why not think about using those culinary skills to create and sell amazing holiday treats this Christmas season? You can expand your offerings to include other holidays such as Kwanze and Hanukkah.
After all, people love the holiday season no matter what their background or beliefs. If you’re a gifted treat creator, this is the ideal business idea for you.
12 Christmas Party Planning
I went to a family Christmas party a couple of years back and was completely blown away. It was so well organized and so much fun. It was easily better than 99% of the business Christmas parties I’ve attended over the years.
As it turns out there was a good reason this was such a great party. It was organized and run be a professional party planner. They did an amazing job. If you’re an awesome party planner yourself, you’ll find plenty of clients interested in your special talents during the Christmas season.
13 Santa Claus and Holiday Character Rental Services
People and businesses rent Santa Claus outfits, elves costumes and other Christmas themed costumes for a variety of reasons. While you will have to make a decent upfront investment to get this business off the ground, Christmas character rental services can be one of the more lucrative Christmas business ideas available to you.
14 Hosting Holiday Craft Fairs
If you spend a large amount of your time throughout the year making and selling crafts for others, Christmas can be the perfect time to showcase your creations and grow your business. Why not invite family and friends to participate in a holiday craft fair?
It can be a great way to exchange ideas, spread the word about your business and have a whole lot of fun in the process. If you’re not up to running your own, research local holiday craft fairs you can participate in around your area. Either way, a craft fair can be a great way to launch or grow a business.
15 Gift Wrapping Services
Over the years I’ve received some gifts with some interesting wrapping to say the least. You probably have to. Gift wrapping is a skill that doesn’t come naturally for a lot of people.
If you’re good at packaging Christmas gifts you have a potentially large client list available to you. Even people who can do a decent job of wrapping gifts, may be willing to pay you to do it for them to save time. It can be one of the busier and more profitable Christmas business ideas.
16 Holiday Pet Sitting
The holiday are probably the busiest party season of the year. For pet owners that can be stressful. They may not be comfortable leaving their pets alone for extended periods of time. Thats’ where you come in.
By offering a holiday pet sitting service you can make some great cash and give your customers the peace of mind they need knowing their pets are in good hands.
17 Christmas Card Design and Printing
We may be living in a digital age, but that hasn’t slowed down the Christmas card industry. The holiday season is the one time a year where people just love to send cards to family and friends. Cashing in on that love of Christmas cards is another great opportunity.
Many people are willing to pay a little extra to pay for custom Christmas card designs. I have an aunt that makes these cards for the family every year and they’re the only one I can’t wait to see because they’re so unique and creative.
18 Holiday Candle Making
A candle making business can be profitable year round, but Christmas themed candles tend to do even better. If you have a candle making workshop, consider concentrating on Christmas themed colors and scents through November and December and you’re bound to see your sales climb.
19 Social Media Marketing For Holiday Campaigns
With the Christmas period being so critical for retailers, there’s also a great opportunity for savvy marketers.
Social media is critical for any successful marketing campaign these days, but many business owners are completely lost when it comes to making the most of these platforms. If you can offer the services they lack in this area, you can make a great deal of money offering holiday social media campaigns for clients.
20 Christmas Content Writing Services
Freelance writers can also profit from the Christmas season. Whether it’s for websites, blog articles or email marketing campaigns, there’s a lot of content that businesses need created for the holidays.
Pivot you’re own marketing campaign to make it clear that you’re experienced in creating powerful and effective Christmas content and you’ll be able to make a tidy profit in the fourth quarter.
21 Christmas E-Commerce Setup and Optimization Services
Some people are highly creative and great at crafts. That doesn’t mean they have any idea how to go about setting up an e-commerce site for their Christmas business. If you’re experienced building and optimizing these kinds of sites there’s definitely a healthy profit to be made.
22 Sustainable Holiday Decor Production
Just because people love the Christmas season, doesn’t mean they’re willing to sacrifice their ideals for holiday decor. People that put their green ideals ahead of niceties like holiday decor, can be a great target market.
Why not start a business offering sales of sustainable holiday decor? You can offer products such as dried orange garlands, natural wreaths made from your own garden materials and other holiday products made from natural materials. This may be a more niche market, but it’s large enough to be an attractive money maker.
23 Upcycled Christmas Crafts
Are you the type of person that’s always trying to repurpose old materials and objects rather than throw them out and add to the local landfill? That hobby could easily become one of the most profitable Christmas business ideas you didn’t even know existed.
Turn those upcycled creations into Christmas crafts, set yourself up on Etsy and Facebook Marketplace and start selling your creations to other like-minded people.
24 Green Gift Wrapping Solutions
Don’t just offer a traditional gift wrapping business, offer green gift wrapping solutions. This can include reusable fabrics as wrapping paper, jars, beeswax wrap and repurposed pillowcases. The recipients of these gifts will still get the present they’d hoped for, just not at the cost of more unwanted Christmas waste.
25 Christmas Lawn Blow Up Rentals
We couldn’t create a Christmas business ideas list without talking about those huge blowup outdoor Christmas decorations. People love those oversized snowmen, santa’s and reindeer.
These may look great on a lawn at Christmas, but they can be costly. They’re also difficult to store. If you have a few you’ve collected over the years, renting them out can be a great way to make some extra holiday cash.