Supplementing Income during Winter Vacations in Canada.

Immigrated to Canada !!!!! Great !!!!. Can you escape from working on Holidays??? If yes, Great, else be sure you would do great by working during Holidays. Supplement pocket money, work for the coming ‘Back to School’ or just for fun and learning.

Here are few Holiday Jobs which are light on load, good on remuneration and do not require much professional skill to do. Just have aptitude and there you go !!!

1. Cook and Sell Holiday Treats

Got aptitude for cooking ?? Ever got appreciated for maple pie or during potluck dinners? Why not take a short term course with a catering company if required? Remember, Canadian taste buds, though are not as demanding as Punjabi taste buds, but are quite conscious of quality. They wont like much of spices, but rather bland food. Got a good recipe, be assured to do well. This can turn out to be one of the most paying holiday ideas and can get you repeat customers as well.

You can try selling preserves or holiday baked goods like shortbread. Fledging food entrepreneurs can test their ideas at Foodshare's Kitchen Incubator commercial kitchen.

For publicity, post notices of your services on bulletin boards or buy a booth at a local fair or craft show.

2. Go Retail

Stores are always looking for help in the weeks prior to Christmas. If you're good with cash, enjoy meeting the public and don't mind standing on your feet for long hours, apply to such retailers as Zellers/The Bay, ToysRUS, Future Shop or the LCBO. See our retail sales article for more information and links.

3. Postal Service

If you are Class G or have Driver DZ license, why not try for jobs with Canada Post?. Canada Post offers plum pre-Christmas jobs as casual on-call drivers and letter carriers. The pay is decent, over $20 an hour, and you get the extra bonus of burning all those calories just before the holiday food marathon.

Alternately, if it does not work out, you can always call courier companies like UPS, Purolater or Fedex. Delivering newspapers is another way to make a little added income just before Christmas as customers normally tip more this time of year.

4. Holiday Gift Wrapping

Definitely not as paying as some of other options being discussed but never the less, good ones to park your extra time. Definitely better than not having any earning at all and again one of the good ones, if you do not have passion for driving and sales jobs. If you're good with scissors and can make a pretty bow in no time flat, consider wrapping gifts at malls or department stores. Good stores begin hiring full- and part-time wrappers in mid-November.

5. Personal Shopping

Become an angel of mercy for challenged gift-givers! If you have exquisite taste and enjoy hanging out in malls in December, set up your shingle as a personal shopper. Find out the sizes, favorite colors, hobbies and passions of your clients' nearest and dearest and go to it. For inspiration, check out the I Kan Do It, Personal Shopper or Your Shopper web sites.

6. Warehouse Sales Work

If you don't mind being surrounded by holiday shoppers, why not look into casual work at some of the big warehouse sales such as Ashley, Proctor and Gamble or Samco held across the GTA . These sales are often held in the far reaches of the 'burbs so you'll need access to a car. A visit to the web site shoestringshopping.com offers information on the major stores offering warehouse sales. Also check out the web site bestbuys.ca to find listings of current sales events in Toronto.

7. Get a Santa Gig

If acting job do interest you, go for it. Such opportunities are rare, and you may have to look for them, but on the bright side of it, you would have lots of fun playing with children. – You can also try your hand as virtual Santa or else try novel ideas as encourage kids to write to Santa.

If you're an extrovert who likes kids, what could be better than working as a mall Santa? You get to sit all day and practice acting skills with a forgiving audience. There is no straightforward way to land on the throne; one suggestion: contact management of various malls to find out how they hire Christmas performers.

8. Be host at exhibition stall
There are many fairs across the country which start shows in winter as Furniture exhibition at Toronto, Gift show in Vancouver, Job fair at Calgary etc. You can man the stalls with many of the companies. Such opportunities will not keep you occupied for whole of the winter vacation but would give you sufficient as average income and if you show results, repeat offers are aplenty.

9. Craft Creator

Are you are one of those people who enjoy making reindeers out of logs or snowmen out of pom poms? If so, now is the time to begin marketing your crafts. Shopping malls, craft shops, libraries and community centres often post notices for upcoming shows.

If you're looking for craft ideas and free patterns, check out some of the web sites as 100 Craft Links, GetCrafty.com or Aunt Annie's Crafts.

10. Play Music at Parties

If you feel comfortable on stage, you can sing and/or play an instrument, look at marketing yourself as a musician for private parties. Why not put an ad in Local papers advertising your talents and see how it goes? If you can't sing or play an instrument, but have a large record collection and fast hands, investigate the possibilities of spinning records as a DJ.