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A 10-year old boy is making several trips this year and wants to help his parents with expenses, and I want to help him with that. He's already selling raffle tickets for each, which go into a communal pot, and he wants to do more. He is targeting the urban area where he lives, his pals from the boy scouts, and family. (The school forbids bringing money into the premises, so schoolmates are off.)

I want to help him, especially in finding something that, unlike raffle tickets, creates real value for the buyer. The holiday season is a good time to sell small stuff. I have access to a laser cutter, a 3D-printer, a CNC router, and a heat press.

For the urban area, I thought of custom t-shirts (with a design printed on transfer paper and ironed on the t-shirt), a bake sale, balloon animals, or reselling bulk products (like smencils, pencils with a smell) at a premium. For his scout friends and family, I could engrave custom logos or photos on the laser-cutter, and make Christmas tree ornaments.

What other ideas would you suggest?

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    Hi! Welcome to Parenting. This site is a bit different from other forums; we expect answerable questions, not opinion seeking questions. See the faq and the help center for more information. Thanks!!
    – Joe
    Nov 19, 2019 at 5:26
  • Thanks! I'm asking for opinions, or at least personal experience, so I don't think I can reformulate the question to fit the site. Do you have another forum that would be more appropriate for this question?
    – miguelmorin
    Nov 23, 2019 at 12:26
  • For anyone finding this, we decided to go with laser-engraved photos of family members and making balloon animals at the nearby shopping center.
    – miguelmorin
    Dec 7, 2019 at 20:48

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10 is definitely old enough to be doing odd jobs. Any elderly neighbors that need help with things like household chores?

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  • Good idea! I think this would work well in a village where everyone knows each other, but in an urban setting the parents are rather selective in who they let their children interact with.
    – miguelmorin
    Nov 23, 2019 at 12:29
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Since you have access to a 3d printer, you could try working with him to design (physically, on paper, or software, whichever he would be most confortable with) to design relevant items, maybe Christmas decorations, local sports team emblems, small toys/statues, etc.

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  • Good idea! I like the twist of a Christmas ornament designed by the child.
    – miguelmorin
    Nov 23, 2019 at 12:29

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