Hi,
I am an 11 year old girl, desperate to earn money for birthday/christmas presents for friends/family. PLEASE REPLY WITH AS MANY SUGGESTIONS AS POSSIBLE!!

You're 11 and you don't get like an allowance or something from your parents?

Some might suggest babysitting, but personally I think 11 is too young for that, and I'd never hire anyone that age.

You can try doing odd jobs for neighbors and such. I don't know what your weather there is like, but in the warmer seasons like lawn mowing, raking leaves, etc. At other times, maybe cleaning. For that matter, are your parents willing to pay you for odd jobs around the house? Can you do any delivery stuff where you're at - like newspapers, phone book, ads?

Hi, chef_chick!

What are some things that you already might be good at doing, please?

Thanks!

Hi morgaine300,

Yeah, mum and dad don't give me an allowance, I am a bit worried going to neighbours and things, how could I do that? And yeah I can vacuum their cars (I mean mum and dads) I do that already.

Thanks.

Hi Clough,

Some things I am good at are cooking, netball, art, english like stories and I don't know what do you mean like about what am I good at?

Thanks,

I asked about what you might already good at doing so that it would help us to come up with ideas for you.

Do you live in a neighborhood that has a lot of people in it, please?

Thanks!

Ummm... live in a colldesak (don't know how to spell) and isn't a huge suburb but medium. Quite a few old people.

When I was your age I was constantly looking for ways to earn money. If you have any relatives or close friends that have children that you could babysit, you could do that. But I don't think that you are old enough to babysit for people you don't really know that well. Or, you could babysit while the kids parents are still at home. Some people like hiring people to just give them a hand, especially if they have newborns that require full attention, or if they're busy with work stuff. You could also try doing things around the house, like morgaine 300 suggested. You could vacuum, dust, clean bathrooms, do laundry, etc. You could also put up signs for dog sitting/walking/washing. People would need someone to watch their animals while they're away on vacation, or they might need someone to walk their dog because they're busy. You could charge extra for the size of the dog, how long you would need to walk it, or how long you would need to watch it. I understand that you might not want to go to people's houses and ask them if they need any services done, so put up signs and posters around your neighborhood, or have someone help you put signs up online. If you can't do any of these things, than I suggest just making people gifts for birthdays/christmas. That's what I did a lot. You can make them a coupon for doing laundry, or for baking them cookies or something. Or you could just buy small non-expensive things, like their favorite snacks. That's what I did. No one will expect someone your age to come up with large expensive gifts. And a coupon or their favorite treat are always great to get. Hope this helps! :)

Hello Chef_Chick

How about house cleaning like vacuming and dusting some one's house. I know of several older people in my neighborhood who hire kids that are in school to help out with light housekeeping on the weekends, One lady has a younger person come in on Sat just to mop her kitchen floor and dust.Another older couple has someone come on Saturdays to help with the laundry and hang out the laundry (when its warm)
Just try and I am sure something will come up. Good Luck!

Susie has some good ideas about making gifts, and she's right that no one is going to expect expensive gifts from someone your age. Lots of people bake for Christmas. You said you like art. Do you think anyone would like your art? And since you like cooking, you could also cook for some of the older folks. (Just remember their systems really don't like junky food too much.)

Oh, and it's cul-de-sac. ;)

Thanks so much! You guys have the best ideas!