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Joy

The Upworthy 'Joy-Worthy' gift guide

Holiday presents that continue to give back long after they’re opened.

gift guide, giving back, seavees
via SeaVees

SeaVees SeaChange Slippers

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The holiday season is all about the spirit of giving. So Upworthy is embracing it by sharing gift ideas that won’t just bring joy to those who receive them, but also work to make the world a better place. 'Joy-Worthy' gifts support important causes, promote education and help share positivity through love. We’re sure your loved ones will enjoy these gifts and their positive impact on the world as much as you enjoy giving them.

To make things even merrier, 10% of all sales made through this gift guide will go to Guiding Eyes for the Blind (or in the case of our first partner SeaVees, every pair sold will lead to one foot of coastal kelp forest being regenerated through a partnership with SeaTrees).



SeaVees SeaChange Slippers

Nothing says “happy holidays” quite like incredibly cozy slippers. Whether you’re curled up next to the fire or stuck outside collecting the firewood, these slippers made with supersoft fleece will leave your feet feeling as toasty as the marshmallows on your roasting sticks. The slippers are vegan, with the fleece fully made from PET recycled plastic—so Rudolph and his eight reindeer coworkers would approve. Plus, you’ll be supporting a company that loves spreading holiday cheer. Last Giving Tuesday, SeaVees donated thousands of new shoes to families in underserved communities through their partnership with The Conscious Alliance.

KiwiCo STEM Holiday Bundle

For the child who spends the holidays pondering how Santa’s sleigh actually functions, this box set of fun, educational projects that teach engineering and mechanics is a perfect gift. After building a spinning Christmas Candle Carousel, a hand-cranked automaton of Santa’s sleigh, and a light-up Santa’s Workshop, the lucky kid in your family will be ready for any engineering challenge that comes their way.

Warby Parker Janelle Sunglasses

Some people like to play with their new toys on Christmas morning, while others are just fine relaxing and watching the festivities. Help them sit back in style with a pair of Warby Parker Janelle sunglasses that have oversized lenses big enough to block all the morning sunshine reflecting off the snow. Plus, for every pair purchased, Warby Parker distributes a pair of glasses to someone in need, helping people around the world see how beautiful the holidays can really be.

LoveBook Personalized Holiday Book

Getting curled up in blankets and having a favorite book read to you is a wonderful holiday tradition, and now that favorite book can be your own personal story. LoveBook lets you create a completely unique and custom book that tells whatever tale you’d like, with fun LoveMoji characters designed to look like you and your loved ones. Now all your greatest holiday stories, from your mom cooking the perfect holiday meal to your dad cursing for six hours while putting together your new bicycle, can be immortalized and shared with those you love forever.

Conscious Step Socks That Protect the Arctic

Santa’s reindeer do quite a lot of work on Christmas, so why not give a gift that helps preserve where they call home? This three-pack of super comfortable socks featuring polar bears, narwhals and reindeer will keep your toes warm all winter, and a portion of all sales help Conservation International protect wildlife and their Arctic habitats. They also come in both small and medium sizes, to fit both the elves and the Santas in your life.


Upworthy has earned revenue through a partnership and/or may earn a portion of sales revenue from purchases made through links on our site.

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Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

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Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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This Map Reveals The True Value Of $100 In Each State

Your purchasing power can swing by 30% from state to state.

Image by Tax Foundation.

Map represents the value of 100 dollars.

As the cost of living in large cities continues to rise, more and more people are realizing that the value of a dollar in the United States is a very relative concept. For decades, cost of living indices have sought to address and benchmark the inconsistencies in what money will buy, but they are often so specific as to prevent a holistic picture or the ability to "browse" the data based on geographic location.

The Tax Foundation addressed many of these shortcomings using the most recent (2015) Bureau of Economic Analysis data to provide a familiar map of the United States overlaid with the relative value of what $100 is "worth" in each state. Granted, going state-by-state still introduces a fair amount of "smoothing" into the process — $100 will go farther in Los Angeles than in Fresno, for instance — but it does provide insight into where the value lies.

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One man turned nursing home design on its head when he created this stunning facility

"What if we design an environment that looks like outside?" he said. "What if I can have a sunrise and sunset inside the building?



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Every night around 5:30 p.m., she stood up and told the staff at her Ohio nursing home that she needed to leave. When they asked why, she said she needed to go home to take care of her mother. Her mom, of course, had long since passed away.

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People are sharing the adult problems that 'nobody prepared you for' and they're so true

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Being an adult is tough.

Nothing can ever fully prepare you for being an adult. Once you leave childhood behind, the responsibilities, let-downs and setbacks come at you fast. It’s tiring and expensive, and there's no easy-to-follow roadmap for happiness and success.

A Reddit user named u/Frequent-Pilot5243 asked the online forum, “What’s an adult problem nobody prepared you for?” and there were a lot of profound answers that get to the heart of the disappointing side of being an adult.

One theme that ran through many responses is the feeling of being set adrift. When you’re a kid, the world is laid out as a series of accomplishments. You learn to walk, you figure out how to use the bathroom, you start school, you finish school, maybe you go to college, and so on.

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I grew up black in a very white neighborhood in a very white city in a very white state.

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Education

Warren Buffet's partner, Charlie Munger shared his most valuable advice on becoming a success

The billionaire passed away on November 28 at the age of 99.

via Nick / Wikimedia Commons

Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway.

Charles Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffet’s closest business partner, passed away on Tuesday, November 28, at 99. Buffett and Munger's partnership lasted over 50 years, producing Berkshire Hathaway, one of the largest and most successful conglomerates in history.

When Munger passed, his estimated worth was $2.6 billion. Buffet, 93, is believed to be worth $119 billion.

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If you're grieving a loved one this holiday season, here's a gift you can give yourself

After losing her almost-4-year-old daughter to epilepsy, Kelly Cervantes created a "grief companion" that meets people wherever they are in their grief journey.

Images courtesy of Kelly Cervantes

Kelly Cervantes wrote her way through grieving the loss of her daughter, Adelaide.

Kelly Cervantes begins the Introduction to her book with five words: "Grief sucks. It's also weird." It's a concise truth that anyone who has lost a loved one knows all too well.

Grief is a universal experience—none of us get through life without loss—but it's also unique to each person. Most of us are familiar with the popular "stages of grief" theory, but denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (along with guilt and a host of things) are less like sequential rungs on a ladder and more like pools you fall into at various times as you stumble your way through the grief process. Grief is not linear and it's not neat and tidy and it's not predictable.

Take it from someone who's been there. Kelly Cervantes lost her daughter, Adelaide, to epilepsy just shy of her 4th birthday. Using writing as a therapeutic tool to help her process Adelaide's medically complex life, death and everything that came after, Kelly created the book she wished she'd had as she was trying to navigate her own grieving process.

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