POPPING the star on the top of the tree is one of the most magical Christmas moments – but Lucy Green gets paid to do it dozens of times every year.

The 21-year-old made £2,500 from decorating 36 trees over the space of a month last festive season after signing up to odd jobs website CareToShare.

Lucy, who lives in Waterlooville, Hampshire, starting off decorating the homes of family member but it soon turned into a money making project.

"I know how Christmas can be a really stressful time for some people, so it's really nice to bring a bit of magic to their lives," she told The Sun.

"I'd always had bad things happen to me around this time of year, such as my grandparents passing away, so it was partly for this reason that I decided to try and find the joy in the festive season."

The mum used the cash to pay for Christmas, as well as on treats for the family and things that needed doing around the house.

She hopes to do the same again this festive period – and already has 21 bookings.

Lucy charges £30 for simply decorating a tree with tinsel, baubles, and beads you already have.

"It's one less job for people to worry about," says Lucy. Adding: "And sometimes it's sometimes a surprise for the children."

But this fee increases if she needs to decorate the rest of the house too, or if she needs to go out and buy the decorations on your behalf. She'll also do outside lights as part of the service.

On average, Lucy says she made £70 a booking last year – but her most expensive job was for £250.

Asda, Primark, and local garden centre Keydell Nurseries are her must visit retailers for cost-effective decorations.

Lucy who works three days a week as a psychiatric support worker, is planning to fit in the work around her time off.

What odd jobs sites are out there?

WE round-up some of the main odd job sites in the UK:

Airtasker

• Taskers pay a fee to Airtasker of between 10% to 20% of what they charge for jobs, plus tax.
• The fee varies depending on how much work you've done via the site in the past month – the more you earn the less you pay.
• Liability cover is provided up to £5million but there are some exclusions.
• All payments are processed via the site.

CareToShare

• Free for both taskers and those booking services to sign up to.
• £5.99 a month flat-fee coming in from July 2021 for those offering their services.
• No liability cover.
• Payments are not processed via the site.

Gumtree

• Free for taskers and those booking services.
• No liability cover.
• Payments are not processed via the site.

TaskRabbit

• Free for those posting a service to sign-up to.
• Those booking services pay a 15% surcharge included in the hourly rate, but they also pay a separate 15% fee on top.
• No liability cover.
• Payments must be paid via the site.

Her partner, 50, who is an airport taxi driver, helps out by dropping off and picking up Lucy who carries out jobs in a roughly 15-mile radius from home.

"It works around me and my family and my schedule," Lucy explained.  

CareToShare has a "Christmas Task Category", which is dedicated to those offering or in need of festive-themed services from present wrapping to decorating.

The CareToShare website itself is free to sign up to for both those offering and booking their services, although it will charge £5.99 a month for those offering tasks from July 2021.

Odd jobs site TaskRabbit has a similar "Holiday Help" section on its site. Christmas tree decorating isn't specifically listed yet but it may well be added later in the year as there are Easter and autumn decorating options.

Meanwhile, rival site Airtasker doesn't have a specific Christmas jobs category but it does offer sub-sections for those offering Christmas gift and flower deliveries, as well as Christmas catering.

Airtasker charges a fee for those carrying out services, while it's free for taskers on TaskRabbit to use the site – see the box above for more on this.

Lucy's partner also helps her tackle the administrative side of it as if you earn more than £1,000 from side hustles you need to declare it to HMRC via a self-assessment tax return. Anything earned up to £1,000 is tax-free.

Lucy says she's luckily not broken decorations or come across any problems yet but bear in mind it CareToShare doesn't offer liability cover, so you've got no insurance to fall back on if something goes wrong.

Airtasker is the only similar odd jobs site we found offering such cover but there are exclusions so familiarise yourself with these first.

What to watch out for when using odd job sites

BEFORE rushing to use odd job sites; make sure you do your research first.

You might need to declare your earnings

Everyone has a self-employed tax-free trading allowance of £1,000 a year, which covers cash made from odd jobs.

That's on top of the current £12,500 tax-free personal allowance everyone gets, and it's also on top of the £1,000 you can make tax-free each year from property.

Anything earned above £1,000 and you'll need to declare it each year via a self-assessment tax return so HMRC can determine what you owe.

Bear in mind that additional income may also affect your benefits so check this with your work coach or with the Department for Work and Pensions before offering out your services.

Consider if you need insurance

Some job sites will offer you liability insurance as standard, which should cover you if you accidentally damage someone's home or cause an injury to someone while undertaking a job.

If a site doesn't offer this cover, consider whether you'd feel more comfortable with liability cover – whether that's for you as an individual or if you decide to effectively set yourself up as a self-employed business.

Use a comparison site to check for the best deals and cover.

Be mindful of your safety

If you're carrying out jobs for people you've only spoken to online it's always best to tell someone else where you've gone and to be mindful of the situation. Consider meeting people in a public place first.

Also bear in mind any coronavirus measures you or the person booking the task need to factor in.

The weirdest request Lucy's had was from a household who wanted a gothic-style Nightmare Before Christmas theme, although Lucy she says she loves Disney decorations.

Lucy has kept her services to Christmas decorations for now but next year plans to look into expanding to cover Easter and Halloween festivities too.

For others thinking of taking the plunge and offering their services Lucy said: "Just go for it. It can be really nerve wracking at first to meet strangers but it's something to brighten other people's days and make you feel better." 

Nicholas Segrue, chief executive of CareToShare added: "This year, instead of battling to do it all yourself and doing some jobs badly, we’re offering our users the chance to pay for someone else to do the jobs they hate, or swap their skills, and hopefully have a much more enjoyable Christmas." 

Here's how to make hundreds of pounds a week on odd-job sites by doing cleaning or handyman work.

And here's how one mum saves hundreds of pounds by starting her Christmas food shop in September.

Home Bargains, B&M and Tesco are already selling Christmas decorations, presents and chocolate leaving shoppers gobsmacked.

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