Christmas will be here before we know it and we all want the opportunity to earn a bit of extra cash if we can as the festive season approaches.

And whether you’re out of work, want to take on a second job, or fit in some hours around studying, there are lots of seasonal opportunities right on our doorstep.

But demand for these jobs is only going to increase as time goes on so it's best to get any applications in as early as possible.

We've had a look what's available in Chester in the run up to Christmas.

Postal worker at Royal Mail

The Christmas period is naturally a very busy time of year for Royal Mail, and to help handle the increased volumes of mail, casual workers are required to sort mail in its Jupiter Drive centre with start dates between mid-November through to mid-December.

As the face of Royal Mail you will work as part of a team covering various indoor roles in a warehouse environment, ranging from unloading mail from vans, moving large volumes of mail around in trolleys, sorting parcels and letters manually or operating machinery.

Pay Rate:
Mon - Sat 06.00 - 22.00 £7.50
Mon - Fri 22.00 - 06.00 £8.30
Sun - 06.00 - 22.00 £8.80
Sat & Sun - 22.00 - 06.00 £10.30

Typical shifts at the Jupiter Drive site are:

Earlies 06:00 - 14:00

Lates 14:00 - 22:00

Nights 22:00 - 06:00

Sales assistant at John Lewis

John Lewis At Home on Greyhound Retail Park, Chester

Fancy a seasonal job working for John Lewis on Sealand Road? The company is looking for temporary selling assistants for a 13-week period with pay ranging from £7.55 - £9.66 (depending on experience).

The earliest start date you could be required in this role is 29/10/2017 with a potential end date of 20/01/2018 although you could be offered a shorter contract within these dates.

Group assessments will take place on various dates from 28/09/2017. You will need to be available for an assessment from this date.

Looking for more local jobs? Try Fish4Jobs

Night bar assistant at Queen Hotel

All training will be provided for this position to join the nights team at one of Chester's most well-known hotels.

The advert states: "We are about to serve more than 11,000 guests at our fabulous and famous Christmas parties, as such we are now starting recruitment for our Night Bar / Setup teams."

You will start work at 8pm and finish at 6am, during which time you will work on the bar and help clear and set up for new parties, amongst other duties.

Lots of hours and shifts are available and it is a flexible job with bosses willing to take people on who want two shifts a week, and equally taking people on who work 5 shifts a week.

The main requirement is that staff can work weekends and applicants must be over 18.

Part of the 'Christmas Crew' at Chester toy shop

The main requirements for working as a Christmas sales assistant at The Entertainer in Chester are 'enthusiasm and commitment'.

You'll need to be flexible to work extra hours and shifts as the shop extends their trading day and operates extra out of hours shifts as Christmas approaches.

Daytime duties include working primarily on the shop floor approaching and assisting customers, demonstrating toys, helping on the till points and making sure the store remains well presented.

As part of the evening crew, your primary role would be to assist in refilling the shop sections and ensuring all store deliveries are completed as quickly and accurately as possible ready for the next day's trade. This is likely to involve early or late shifts out of normal trading hours.

Pay is up to £7.50 per hour dependent on age, plus a 20% Toy Discount in December.

Sales assistant at Smiggle

Colourful stationery and gadget shop Smiggle is recruiting for temporary sales assistants in the run-up to the festive season.

You would be required to create an experience for customers that is 'personal, exciting, creative and unique'.

You’ll need to have good availability to work across peak trade periods from mid October to help with a busy Christmas period.

Applications close on October 22.

And if you're willing to travel slightly further afield...

Father Christmas at garden centre

There is no more festive job than being Father Christmas himself.

Dobbie’s garden centre in Speke is looking for someone special to don the red suit and deliver the magic of Christmas for children visiting the store.

As Father Christmas, the successful applicant would work alongside a team of elves and be responsible for creating memorable visits by talking to children within the magical grottos.

The job advert states: “From the moment you step into the suit you will become Father Christmas himself. From regaling stories from the North Pole and asking children about their Christmas list, you’ll have the confidence to spread happiness and fulfil the imagination of children of all ages.”

Candidates need to have a 'jolly nature' and be able to say 'ho, ho, ho' with plenty of enthusiasm.

Game hero

Game in Liverpool are looking for a 'Game hero', aka a Christmas sales assistant to work in their Bootle branch.

You will be expected to be:

  • Delivering an epic high standard of excellent customer service at all times
  • Building relationships with the store's local gaming community to ensure loyalty and return custom
  • Giving expert gaming knowledge to our customers and ensuring we meet the candidates expectations at all times - matching products to their needs
  • Attaching products to maximise transactional value - link selling & up selling
  • Keeping up to date with the latest gaming news and using this knowledge to make the sale
  • Working with the other Heroes within the business to deliver an energetic and welcoming in store atmosphere