It’s that time of year again! The season of good will and cheer, of love and giving, of feeding the world… so you may have guessed, it’s a jolly good time to up your fundraising game. So make the most of this magical time of year, all the colourful lights, Christmas carols and mulled wine help to encourage people to be more charitable.

Go through your address books and get in touch with your contacts, old and new, e.g. fellow members of sports clubs, former and current work colleagues, neighbours, business suppliers, ex-employers, people you haven’t seen for a very long time. Send an early Christmas card with an appeal letter explaining your challenge and the awesome cause you’re doing it for. Add a link to your Just Giving page, or if you know they like to do things old school, enclose a donation slip and a stamped envelope.

If you can’t find their address, why not catch up with them on Facebook, via email or even over the phone? Be sure to choose the contact method you know they will prefer. Not only is this a great way to fundraise; it’ll also inspire you to rekindle friendships that have fizzled out over time.

If you write to 40 people and they each send you £5 = £200

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear

Time to warm up those vocal chords and do some carol singing in your local area. Get extra festive by wearing a Santa hat or reindeer antlers and an ugly Christmas jumper – or why not go full out and dress up as an elf? Rope in some friends to do it with you and spread that Christmas spirit like Buddy the Elf himself!

Good places to ask for permission to sing would be:

• Supermarkets
• Local pubs/hotels
• Mainline railway station or tube stations
• Busy shopping areas (undercover)
• Out-of-town superstore areas

Don’t shake your tin at people – but do smile – you’ll get more money.

Just two collections x £50 = £100

If you or your friends like baking, Christmas is your slice of cake! You can do any or all of the following:

• Throw a Christmas bake sale. You can bake and sell all sorts of festive treats, e.g. mince pies, Christmas logs, Christmas spiced cookies (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg), Christmas cake and festive cupcakes, along with all your usual favourites. Here’s a link to some great recipes.
• Guess the weight – Bake a Christmas cake or a Christmas pudding (if you can’t bake, ask a friend or shop to donate) and get people to guess for a prize:
  – the weight of the cake or
  – how many coins in the pudding.
• Arrange a baking competition around your house – Keep it simple by judging only by taste and appearance, leaving out the race against time, as this could prove difficult with only one oven!

Suggested prizes: the cake/ pudding (depending on how long the competition goes on for), a bottle of (mulled) wine, coupons/ voucher, a free service you can give (e.g. haircut, car wash, dog wash/ walk), a home-made Christmas hamper.

Put on a Christmas raffle! Contact local pubs/clubs/hotels and ask them to host it and help you sell tickets. If you can supply the prizes, they’ll be more inclined to help. Try going down to your local shopping centre with a friend and asking local shops to donate prizes (e.g. a turkey, bottle of whiskey, perfume, box of chocolates). If there are two of you, it’s much harder for people to refuse.  Ask the pub to sell tickets at £1 each.

(Yes, we said it!) What better way to fundraise than a good old Christmas quiz night? Round up your friends and family, old and new, and have them round your house for an evening of festive games and trivia. Charge them anything from £1 – £5 to take part. You could even try to hire out your local town or village hall for the night or get your local pub on board, if you’re expecting big numbers.

Everyone loves a Christmas party.  Put on the best party of all – borrow a venue (local pub, club, community hall or your home), get a disco (for free if possible), decorate like Christmas threw up in the place and get down to some serious merrymaking.  Remember to charge your friends for their tickets!

Offer your services as a charity taxi driver for those who’ve had a little too much of the festive spirit. Friends, family, work colleagues, acquaintances can all book you in advance for a special night out.  It’ll cost them a bit more than a regular taxi, but they’ll get your sparkling service and it’s all for a very good cause. Pop on some reindeer antlers and pretend you’re Rudolph to give the Santa sleigh experience.

Borrow an exercise bike, get permission from a local store or shopping centre and get pedalling.  Set up a sign explaining what you’re doing and why and a bucket for passers-by to throw in their donations and a clock to show everyone how long you’ve been at it.  It’s brilliant – training and fundraising at the same time! You don’t need to limit yourself to cycling. Why not do a sponsored hike, jog, skip or star jumps.

Who doesn’t love a bric-a-brac sale? Join your local car boots sale, or pop up a few signs and set up shop in your garage. You can de-clutter and raise funds at the same time!

Organise a competition and charge for entry. We’re leaving it vague, so you can tailor it to your friends’ interests and your facilities, but it can be anything you want. Just make sure you organise it well and that everyone has a great time!

What’s Christmas without a Christmas movie marathon! Host a Christmas movie night (at home or in your local hall) for family, neighbours, friends and friends of friends. Transform your sitting room (or your local hall if you can) into a festive cinema and show all the Christmas classics. Organise it well with comfy seats, popcorn and festive treats. Carry out a poll beforehand to get people to choose which movie(s) you show and charge people around £1 for entry.

Make and sell Christmas decorations! To give customers an extra special experience, you could even get them to pre-order personalised decorations. They needn’t be complicated. You can make and sell anything from banners to bunting to Christmas wreaths to tree ornaments. If you’re stuck for ideas, Pinterest is the place to go. Here’s an awesome slideshow showing you how to make the cutest decorations, even if you’re not creatively skilled!