World Kindness Day: Simple Ways to Celebrate (November 13)

World Kindness Day falls on November 13 each year — a global reminder that kindness is a language everyone speaks. It is a lovely idea that usually turns into a wave of social posts and not much else. The point of this page is the opposite: a short list of things you can actually go do on the day, most of them in the time it takes to read this.

The trick with a kindness "holiday" is to aim it outward, at strangers and the people just outside your circle. That is where a small act travels furthest — and where it is most likely to get passed on.

Ways to celebrate World Kindness Day

1. 1

   Give a stranger a compliment today.

2. 2

   Anonymously buy a meal for someone when you go out to eat.

3. 3

   Give up your seat for someone.

4. 4

   Return your shopping cart.

5. 5

   Give out 5 high fives to people that need them.

6. 6

   Make someone smile today.

7. 7

   Mail a card to a friend.

8. 8

   Praise someone in front of others.

9. 9

   Do a random act of kindness today.

10. 10

    Give more hugs.

11. 11

    Have a conversation with someone new today.

12. 12

    Surprise a friend.

Here is the honest secret, though: a single day of kindness is nice, but a habit of it is what changes anything. The best way to celebrate World Kindness Day is to let it be the day you start, not the day you finish.