Santa Claus can be much more than a giver of presents. He can be the means to some cold hard holiday cash. Its easy to cash in on Santa if you know what to do. Here are two of the most common ways to earn cash as Santa. One is for men only and the other is for anyone, especially creative stay-at-home moms.

1. Be a freelance visiting Santa. Anyone can purchase a quality professional Santa Suit online and start a lucrative side business. Personal appearances from Santa can range from $100 an hour and up depending on the venue. You investment in a professional Santa Suit will run between $75-$500. If you have more time look into being a mall Santa. You’ll need to go through a thorough screening process but it will be worth it since a mall Santa can earn between $8,000 – $15,000 for the season.

2. Start a Santa Letter Service. This is another business opportunity to earn a stocking full of cash. You can advertise on shopping center bulletin boards, banks and by word of mouth. You can earn as much as $10 per letter. You will need to invest in good quality Christmas stationary and have a creative flare. You can make this an official business with a PayPal account and a business license or a local cash business where you act as the official courier for Santa. People send you their child’s letter along with a cash payment. In either case, you answer the letter that you personalize for every child, add a token gift like stickers or small coloring sets and ship it to North Pole Alaska for an official North Pole Postmark. The address is: