Christmas Fundraiser Ideas to Spread Holiday Cheer and Generosity
The holiday season is the perfect time to organize impactful fundraising events. With schedules filling up quickly in December, it’s ideal to start planning and hosting your Christmas events early. Here are some categories of Christmas fundraiser ideas to help you engage your community and make a difference this season.
Community Fundraiser Ideas for Christmas
- Carols by Candlelight
- Budget: 🎄🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅🎅
- Idea: Invite local musicians and choirs for a serene evening of candlelit caroling. Sell tickets and donate the proceeds to a charitable cause.
- Santa Run
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅
- Idea: Organize a race where participants run in Santa costumes. Charge entry fees and sell tickets for spectators to raise funds.
- Holiday Pet Parade
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅
- Idea: Host a parade where pets dress up in festive attire. Charge entry fees for participants and spectators, and offer a prize for the best-dressed pet.
- Online Silent Auction
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Collect donations from local businesses and auction them online. Focus on gift items and experiences that can be used during the holidays.
- Board Game Day
- Budget: 🎄🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅🎅
- Idea: Organize a community board game event. Charge an entry fee and offer prizes for winners.
Christmas Carnival Games
- Find the Lucky Stocking
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Hang multiple stockings and have participants guess which one contains a prize.
- Find Santa
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Wrap boxes with one containing a toy Santa. Participants guess the correct box to win a prize.
- What’s in the Stocking?
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Fill stockings with items and have participants guess what’s inside to win the stocking.
- Ring Rudolph’s Nose
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Toss rings onto Rudolph’s nose to win a prize.
- Snowball Throw
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Set up targets and have participants throw “snowballs” (beanbags) through them for prizes.
Christmas Gifts and Sales
- Community Garage Sale
- Budget: 🎄🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Organize a sale where community members sell their unwanted items. Charge booth fees to raise funds.
- Christmas Bake Sale
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Host a bake sale with holiday treats. Charge a fee for bakers to sell their goods and/or take a percentage of sales.
- Gift Stalls or Card Sale
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Rent out booths to local crafters to sell handmade gifts and cards.
Christmas Services
- Letters to Santa
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Host an event where children can write letters to Santa and receive a personalized reply.
- Gift Wrapping Event
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Set up a gift-wrapping station where participants pay to have their gifts wrapped by volunteers.
- Christmas Decorating Service
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Offer a decorating service for local businesses and homes. Charge a fee for setup and takedown of decorations.
Christmas Workshops
- Christmas Centerpiece Workshop
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Teach attendees to create unique Christmas centerpieces. Charge a fee for the workshop, including supplies.
- Gift Basket Workshop
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Host a workshop where participants create holiday gift baskets. Include the cost of materials in the ticket price.
- Candle Making Workshop
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Teach participants to make holiday-scented candles. Offer a portion of the proceeds to support your cause.
Christmas Competitions
- Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Host a contest for the ugliest Christmas sweater. Charge an entry fee and offer prizes for the winners.
- Gingerbread House Competition
- Budget: 🎄🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅
- Idea: Hold a gingerbread house-making contest. Charge entry fees and offer prizes for the best creations.
- Christmas Game Night
- Budget: 🎄🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅
- Idea: Organize a game night with Christmas-themed games. Charge entry fees and offer prizes for winners.
Christmas Donations
- Find Sponsors to Match Donations 1:1
- Budget: 🎄🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅
- Idea: Partner with sponsors who will match every dollar donated by participants.
- Set an Extra Place on the Table
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Encourage families to set an extra place at their holiday table and donate the cost of an additional meal.
- Donate Your Christmas
- Budget: 🎄
- Difficulty: ❄️
- Family-Friendly: 🎅
- Idea: Ask people to donate the money they would spend on gifts to your cause instead of buying presents.
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Christmas Services Fundraisers
The holiday season can be hectic, and many people seek extra help during this busy time. Christmas services offer a way for participants to check items off their to-do lists while contributing to a good cause. Here are some holiday services you can use as fundraisers:
Pro Tip: Promote your services on social media to generate excitement about your event. Let customers purchase tickets directly through platforms like Facebook and Instagram using sickeningevents seamless checkout.
26. Letters to Santa
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Get children excited for the season by hosting a Letters to Santa event. Kids can write their letters and drop them in a special mailbox for delivery to the North Pole. Parents can pay for a personalized reply from “Santa” — courtesy of your volunteers.
27. Gift Wrapping Event
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Gift wrapping can be time-consuming and challenging. Set up a gift-wrapping event where participants can drop off their gifts to be beautifully wrapped by your volunteers. Promote sustainable wrapping techniques and set up a station for kids to create unique wrapping papers and decorations.
28. Christmas Decorating Service
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Organize volunteers to help decorate local businesses, homes, and parks for the holidays. Set up an event near a local market or park and offer decoration services for a fee. Partner with local businesses for discounted supplies or donations. Offer to take down decorations after the holidays for an additional fee.
29. Community Cleanup Drive
Budget: 🎄🎄 Difficulty: ❄️❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅
Gather your community for a neighborhood cleanup program. Recruit volunteers and seek donations from local businesses. Offer special services like lawn cleanup or snow shoveling for a small fee. This helps homeowners prepare their properties for holiday decorating and hosting.
Pro Tip: Check if your city government can support your cleanup drive or refer you to another organization.
Christmas Workshops Fundraisers
Host crafting workshops that teach attendees to design seasonal décor and handmade gifts. You can also sell these crafts to raise funds.
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30. Christmas Centerpiece Workshop
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Organize a workshop for DIY enthusiasts to create unique Christmas centerpieces. Provide an assortment of items for participants to make personalized centerpieces for their holiday tables.
31. Gift Basket Workshop
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Host a gift basket-making workshop with various price points to cater to different audiences. Reach out to local businesses for basket donations and include the cost of the basket and a fundraiser portion in the ticket prices.
32. Custom Calendar Workshop
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
With a new year approaching, everyone needs a calendar. Host a workshop where participants create unique calendars to keep or give as gifts.
33. Wooden Christmas Tree Workshop
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Teach participants basic woodworking skills to create their own wooden Christmas trees. This workshop is a fun way to learn a new skill and create a unique holiday decoration.
34. Advent Calendar Workshop
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Many families use Advent calendars to count down to Christmas. Offer a workshop where participants can create handmade Advent calendars. Seek donations of small items from local businesses to include in the calendars.
35. Candle Making Workshop
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Host a candle-making workshop where attendees can create holiday-scented candles. Encourage participants to bring repurposed containers for a more sustainable approach.
36. Christmas Wreath Workshop
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
A handmade wreath adds holiday cheer. Hold a wreath-making workshop and secure donations from local florists or craft stores to maximize profits.
Christmas Competitions Fundraisers
Add competitive fun to the holiday season by hosting contests. Raise money by charging fees for participants and spectators, and offer prizes to attract more competitors.
37. Ugly Christmas Sweater Contest
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Host an ugly Christmas sweater contest. Encourage participants to wear their tackiest holiday attire, with a prize for the winner. Take the contest online for added fun and let social media likes decide the winner.
38. Gingerbread House Competition
Budget: 🎄🎄 Difficulty: ❄️❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅
Organize a gingerbread house competition where participants can bring a house to display or create one from a kit. Offer prizes for the best creations.
39. Christmas Game Night
Budget: 🎄🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅
Host a charity game night with a Christmas theme, similar to a celebrity basketball game between Santa and the Grinch. You can also get celebrities to donate signed merchandise for additional fundraising.
Christmas Donations Fundraisers
Incorporate various elements to maximize donations. Encourage online donations to extend your fundraiser’s reach and use donation ticket options to let attendees choose their contribution amount.
Pro Tip: Describe the value attendees will receive to encourage maximum contributions.
40. Find Sponsors to Match Donations 1:1
Budget: 🎄🎄 Difficulty: ❄️❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅🎅
Boost donations by setting up gift matching — for every dollar participants give, you or your sponsor will match it.
41. Set an Extra Place on the Table
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Encourage participants to set an “extra place” at their Christmas table and donate the money they would have spent on food and gifts for that person to your cause.
42. Donate Your Christmas
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Ask generous donors to donate the money they would have spent on Christmas gifts to your cause instead.
43. Last Hour Pay
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Encourage potential donors to share their last work hour’s pay before the holidays with your cause. Use donation videos or email marketing to explain the importance of your fundraiser.
44. Dry January Pledge
Budget: 🎄 Difficulty: ❄️ Family-Friendly: 🎅
Encourage your community to take a dry January pledge and donate the money they would have spent on alcohol to your fundraiser.
No matter how you choose to fundraise, sickeningevents. is here to help you plan and market your event. Check out our Christmas party event checklist and learn how to post events for free on sickeningevents. to kick off your Christmas fundraiser planning.
