She says she has loved Christmas since she was in her mother’s womb.
Twenty-one-year-old Maxine Fourie thinks that being a Cookie Time Christmas cookie seller is the best job in the world.
It’s a hard one to get handpicked for the job. Out of the 3000 who apply, only 120 are selected.
“It’s going to be seven days a week, 14 hours a day job for me—a once-in-a-lifetime experience to sell and deliver Christmas cookies to businesses in the area,” says the journalism student who is keen to pay off her university loan with the dollars she earns.
A resident of Somerville, Maxine says her goal is to sell more than 5000 cookie buckets.
She is encouraged by the fact that some tertiary students in the past have made up to $14,000 in the short time leading up to Christmas.
Every cookie seller has a designated area outlined for them. Maxine’s designated zone is Mt Smart area and she says she has hit the ground running.
“During the daytime I visit businesses in the area and after office hours I park my car at the top of the road, do it up with tinsel and play Christmas carols to create the right atmosphere to sell cookies,” she says.
The cookie-selling campaign starts seven weeks preceding Christmas.
“I love the idea of being my own boss and running my own business. I get to decide what time I am going to work, do my own accounts, stock take and be part of an iconic business that has been running since 1985,” says Maxine who is off to book a big order with a corporate client.
“We have five flavours of cookies, including a new flavour Chocoholic-bite-sized cookies that comes in a reusable bucket,’ she says.
Cookie Time aims to raise $200,000 for charity from this year’s sale. The proceeds will go to KidsCan and the Dyslexia Foundation.
“I believe that St John also does a fantastic job so I’m also going to make a personal donation to them from my earnings,” says Maxine.
“It a long day in the sun with no bathroom facilities,” she laughs, “but then it’s always fun to give back.”
