While Christmas gift wrapping may be the bane of some people’s existence, René Nurnberger has turned her hobby into a successful side hustle.

Minnesota-based Nurnberger began wrapping presents in 2023 after quitting her full-time teaching job to make a little extra cash. Now, she estimates she’s wrapped hundreds of gifts.

Many people she knew, particularly working moms, needed some help with odd jobs around the holidays, so she decided to offer her gift-wrapping services.

‘It’s always the moms,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘They just said, “I need someone to help me with this and to take a load off.”‘

Nurnberger some people, who were especially stressed about the holidays, were relieved to have her help.

‘They said: “This saves me so much time to be able to do this. I don’t care that I have to pay someone, I just want it to get done,”‘ she shared.

‘Another lady got referred to me from a friend, and she had fallen on the ice, and so she wasn’t even able to physically wrap presents.’

She began by reaching out to people she already knew and advertising her services on Facebook.

While Christmas gift wrapping may be the bane of some people’s existence, René Nurnberger has turned a hobby into a successful side hustle

Nurnberger charges $3.50 per present, and she provides the wrapping paper, boxes and ribbons

‘If they were gonna come to my house, I wanted to make sure I knew the people,’ said Nurnberger, who charges $3.50 per present

‘Most people charge $2 to $5, depending on what they were offering, so I just stuck with $3.50 every time.’

Nurnberger provides the wrapping paper, boxes and ribbons, estimating that she spends between $30 to $50 on supplies each year. She gives her customers options, such as whether they’d like the item boxed or decorated with a ribbon.

But she admits it is of a hobby than a serious business endeavor.

‘I’ve been doing it for fun and based on need, I’m not as serious as some of the other wrappers,’ she said with a laugh.

Nurnberger was inspired to offer her services again the following year, and was thrilled to find she had people approaching her through word of mouth.

She has earned just shy of $400 from the endeavor, admitting that, while it’s not life-changing money, it has helped alleviate some of the financial stress around the holidays

On average, she wraps between 20 to 30 presents per person, and estimated that she wraps around 100 presents per festive season.

She has earned just shy of $400 from the endeavor, admitting that, while it’s not life-changing money, it has helped alleviate some of the financial stress around the holidays.

‘It’s been something to help me afford some extra presents, or a winter coat,’ she said.

‘It’s just been a nice side hustle around this time of year.’