Lip Smackers Live On!

Moms of all tweens and tweens alike, rejoice: Lip Smackers has been brought back from the brink! Last January, Lip Smackers' manufacturer, The Bonne Bell Company, announced that it was closing shop. The scent of the Dr. Pepper Biggy was a constant in my lip gloss rotation from my own tween years, and as a mom I bought these for my own tweens (Lip Smackers make excellent stocking stuffers, Easter Egg fillers, and birthday gift toppers!). 'Twas devastating news to lose this cultural icon. Luckily for tweens and tweens-at-heart everywhere, the Lip Smackers brand has been brought back into production by the new company owner, Markwins International Corp.
Dr. Pepper, the classic "Biggy"s, Cotton Candy, and Bubble Gum, smack on!

(P.S. Sadly the Thin Mint Lip Smackers are discontinued - but maybe we can start a campaign lobby the Girl Scouts to bring them back?
P.P.S. Your eyes do not deceive you: that IS a Swarovski-encrusted Lip Smacker Biggy!)

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Make a Thanksgiving Care Package With Your Tween

We are big fans of Daily Candy, and today they posted a terrific video about to make a Thanksgiving care package to send to a homeless shelter near you. What we particularly love about this project is that it involves your kid.
'Hope your Thanksgiving is full of laughter and love.



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Thanksgiving Ideas For Tweens

A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from Ms.Twixt and family! We pulled together a quick list of fun Thanksgiving traditions for tweens:

Keep them occupied: We loved this idea from One Charming Party of pumpkin pie favor boxes: a takeout container is set at each place setting and the top cover is customized with an image of a pumpkin pie. We'd update this for tweens by stuffing them with mini quiz books, Smencils, Japanese erasers, Model Magic, mini nail polishes, gimp and lanyard rings, origami papers, a deck of cards, and lip glosses.

Be crafty and grateful at the same time: Thanksgiving is all about being grateful for what one has. A fantastic idea is to create a gratitude paper chain. Simply set out jars full of strips of colorful paper along with pens and a stapler. Each kid writes as many things that she is thankful for on one strip and then staples the strip to form a loop. Especially with adults and extended family getting in on the action, the entire paper chain will assembled in no time.

Get out and play! A friend is gathering all of the neighborhood kids together to enjoy a mid-morning game of football with cider and doughnuts to follow. We will certainly be grateful for the chance to get out of the kitchen to hang out with friends and neighbors.

Make a fun pop quiz! Make a family trivia book: print out the template (or make your own quick accordian-style booklet out of cardstock) from Martha Stewart, send the tweens around to interview guests, and then have a ball figuring out which family member worked as a movie extra, speaks fluent Pig Latin, has traveled to all seven continents, etc.

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An Easter Egg Hunt Designed For Tweens

We're constantly looking for new ways to update holiday traditions with our tweens, and this Easter we're trying a new twist on the traditional egg hunt: a flashlight egg hunt. We're planning ours for the Friday night before Easter (so as not to conflict with the Passover Seder) and ending with a screening at home of the big Easter movie from last year, Hop (the DVD went on sale March 23.)


How does one do a flashlight egg hunt? With a bit of planning. Here's ours:
 
We round up all the flashlights in the house: one for each tween (if your neighborhood or church group were super organized, it looks like you can also get these personalized).

Then the Easter Bunny hides the eggs (during daylight). He choses glittered eggs that are easier to spot when a light shines on them and stuffs others with a glow-in-the-dark bracelet so that they glow. (These you'll have to hide strategically to make them harder a spot.)

Since the hunts on Sunday mornings are primarily for the younger set (and in our family, the tweens must help the littles, not hunt themselves), we're having fun stuffing these eggs especially for tweens with LipSmackers, sticker sheets, hair ties, Cadbury eggs, and Peeps. We're even making a few braces-themed eggs that contain cherry flavored braces wax, those mini Wisp toothbrushes, and mini M-and-;Ms (which melts and doesn't stick so is safe for those sporting orthodontia).

We will end the festivities with the Hop movie screening and serve (what else?) Peeps fondue. After the sugar rush, the girls will have fun giving each other colorful Easter egg manicures - perfect for sporting with her dress on Sunday.

Hoppy Easter!


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St Patrick's Day Activities for Tweens: An End of the Rainbow Party

We were thrilled when our friends at Club Chica Circle asked us to write a guest post for them on ways to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with tweens. We had a ball creating an End of the Rainbow party in honor of the day - check out our post for ideas and how-to's here.

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What We're "Pinning" This Valentine's Day

 We found some REALLY cute Valentine's Day craft and recipe ideas for your tween to make, and we "pinned" them to our board on Pinterest. Our favorites include the tinted milk hearts, the roasted potato hearts, and cinnamon heart rolls. Today we made meringue hearts and pink marshmallows for teacher gifts.

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Celebrating the Chinese Year of the Dragon With Tweens

We love celebrating Chinese New Year with our tweens - Washington always has a great parade in Chinatown, and it's one of the most colorful holidays to watch (the dragon dance is always a big hit). To help us ring in 2012 as the Year of the Dragon, we asked our very crafty, very creative friends at Club Chica Circle to share a dragon-themed craft with our tweens - and boy, did they deliver! Our tweens have dubbed this as "way cool", and we think yours will too.

Today kicks off the Chinese New Year for 2012, and this is the year of the dragon. But what does that mean? The dragon is an especially powerful and important symbol in Chinese culture. Those born in the year of the dragon are said to be powerful, artistic, intuitive, and lucky.

Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days in the Chinese calendar, and is the longest and most important celebration in the Chinese culture.

There are many customs and traditions associated with Chinese New Year celebrations. For instance, it is traditional to give red envelopes filled with money to wish good luck, wealth, or happiness. The color red is an especially regarded color and symbolizes luck in the Chinese culture.

The dragon dance is one of the most colorful and exciting events associated with Chinese New Year where dancers hold up dragon costumes and perform in parades and New Year's celebrations. The Chinese New Year dragon dance represents the bringing of good luck and success in the new year.

And on the 15th day, there is traditionally a red lantern celebration or festival where red lanterns are meant to decorate homes, storefronts, and town centers. The Lantern Festival signifies the end of the New Year and lanterns are hung as a symbol of good fortune and prosperity.

In honor of the year of the dragon, I crafted a dragon bracelet perfect for any tween.

Here is what you will need:
Red rickrack ribbon
Heart shaped beads (I used 12 - 6 red and 6 orange)
Thick orange foam (about 5mm thick)
Scissors
Embroidery thread and needle
Googly eyes
Glue
White and black puffy paint

First cut about 12" of rickrack ribbon, and string heart shaped beads on. I alternated red and orange colored beads and made sure they were all going the same direction. The heart shape along the with waviness of the rick rack is a great way to represent the scales of the dragon. Chinese dragons can be very colorful, so don't be afraid to use other colors. Also, because the rick rack is wavy is a great way to keep the beads in place.

On the end where the bottom of the heart shaped beads are facing leave about 1 1/2" and knot the end (this will become the tough of the dragon). On the other end, make sure to leave about 4" of rickrack and knot a loop at the end (this will become the tail and will wrap around the neck of the dragon to create a bracelet).

Cut two pieces of rickrack about 3 inches long. Tie each along each end leaving 2 beads on the outside of each end. This will be the feet of the dragon.

Now, using your scissors, cut two pieces of thick foam about 1" x 3/4" and 3/4" x 3/4". These pieces will create the head and mouth of the dragon with the larger piece being the top of the head. With an embroidery needle and colored thread to match the foam, knot off one end and push the need through the top of the head and connecting it through the smaller piece of foam and all the way through. Then push your needle back through the other side of the smaller piece, up through the bigger piece, connecting the two pieces on one end. Pull through and knot at the end to make tight. Don't worry the knots will be hidden with the googly eyes glued on top.

Glue two googly eyes on top of the bigger piece of foam on top of the embroidery thread knots. Let dry.

With white puffy paint, draw on white triangles on either side of the head for teeth. With black puffy paint, draw on black half circles for nostrils on top of the head. Let dry.

Once the head is completely dry, string the knotted end of the bracelet through the stitched end of the head until the knot sits securely in the middle of the mouth. Trim the rick rack tongue if necessary.

To attach the bracelet, carefully wrap the looped tail end around the dragon head while on your wrist. Make one for yourself of give as a Chinese New Year's gift to a friend!

We hope the year of the dragon brings you all the best of luck and good fortune, whatever culture you are. Happy New Year!

Are you a member of Club Chica Circle yet? You and your tween should be - it's free, fun and fabulous!

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First Tweens Malia and Sasha Obama Release Sea Turtles into the Wild

The Obama family is back in the President's home state of Hawaii for their annual Christmas break. This year, First Tweens Malia and Sasha Obama got to do a bit of real-life marine biology on their holiday: the girls released four green sea turtles into the wild at Sea Life Park, a marine sanctuary in Oahu that is the only place in the U.S. that raises green sea turtles in captivity. The 18-month old turtles were born at Sea Life Park and are released into the bay as part of program to re-populate this threatened species.

Photo credit: AP

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First Tweens Cheer Justin Bieber at "Christmas in Washington" Show

Meeting Justin Bieber is quickly becoming de rigueur for the First Tweens. Malia and Sasha Obama again welcomed Justin Bieber to the annual "Christmas in Washington" show this weekend at the National Building Museum. The Biebs was the big tween draw last night, but other tween favorite performers included Victoria Justice, Jennifer Hudson, Cee Lo Green, Conan O'Brien, and The Band Perry.

The First Tweens were dressed in colorful holiday attire for the show: Malia Obama wore a bright yellow silk dress by the fashion house "Elizabeth and James" (which parents may recall as being the clothing line developed by former tween stars Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen) with black tights and flats accessorized by a long chain necklace, and Sasha Obama wore a ballet-inspired lilac tulle dress with plum-colored tights and metallic flats.

This was the 30th Annual "Christmas in Washington" event, and it benefits the Children's Medical Center. Mr. Bieber has also performed at the White House Easter Egg Roll and at the 2010 Christmas in Washington event. You can tune into the TNT channel broadcast of "Christmas in Washington" this Friday, December 16th at 8pm EST - or click here for your local broadcast time.



Credits: AP, WireImage for Turner; video from whitehouse.gov

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First Tweens Cheer BigTimeRush at National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

Malia and Sasha Obama attended the 89th National Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the Ellipse last night. On hand to perform "Beautiful Christmas" was Nickelodeon Band Big Time Rush, and the First Tweens cheered their performance and bopped along. The girls continued their sartorial love of color and wore bright, double-breasted coats in deep blue (Sasha) and black with red piping (Malia) - both girls also sported skinny jeans.

Video of BTR's "Beautiful Christmas" performance in Washington below:


You can view the National Tree Lighting ceremony and performances when they are broadcast on your local stations here.

Photo credit: Getty

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First Tweens Thanksgiving Traditions and Holiday Fashion

As is tradition, the President pardons a turkey every year at Thanksgiving. The Obama White House this year pardoned two turkeys (named Liberty and Peace), and First Tweens Malia and Sasha Obama were on hand for the ceremony. They're growing up before our eyes, and their fashion sense remains every colorful and chic (check out Sasha's shoes!).

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Celebrating Flag Day With Tweens

Our tweens are celebrating Flag Day today by making red, white and blue Jell-O (click here for this super easy recipe) and crafting fun ribbon barrettes in patriotic colors (thanks to our friends at Chica Circle for sharing the instructions). Bonus: these accessories can be used again on the Fourth of July!

Because they're on summer break now, nail polish is back in their repertoire - so of course their nails are red, white and blue (check out these instructions for doing a patriotic manicure inspired by Beyonce in her "Telephone" music video - very fun!).

Does your tween know the essentials about the American Flag? Our girls earned their United We Stand badge in Girl Scouts, and whether or not your tween is a Scout, this is a great guide for learning about the flag.

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A St. Patrick's Day Recipe for Tweens

We were looking for a cool project to do with our tweens to celebrate St. Patricks Day, and we found it: rainbow cupcakes!

The girls were able to make it on their own with some minimal supervision (bonus!) - here's what we did:

1. We divided a plain white cake batter evenly into six bowls (a cake mix will work just fine; just make sure it's plain white cake - so one made without egg yolks) and then tinted each bowl with A LOT of food coloring - about 12 drops in each bowl.

2. We spooned about 1 teaspoon of each color into cupcake tins. Be warned: this step takes the most time, so plan accordingly. Then bake for 20 minutes - voila!

3. Peel off the paper wrappers before serving - and the best part is, no icing is needed - these cupcakes look fabulous on their own!

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Happy Pi Day!

For all you math geeks out there, today is March 14th, or 3/14, also known as Pi Day. According to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, "Every year math enthusiasts everywhere celebrate pi, a celebrity among mathematical constants, on 3/14, also known as Pi Day. Extreme enthusiasts have a special celebration at 1:59 (aka, Pi Minute)."

Here is a link to the popular New York Times' article by science columnist John Tierney from 2008.

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It's Fat Tuesday! How to Celebrate Mardi Gras With Tweens

Our tweens have discovered Mardi Gras and are excited to celebrate Fat Tuesday as a family. This year they've asked to have pancakes for dinner (I'm not entirely certain how traditional these are as a dinner option - let us know if this is legit).

We saw these Mardi Gras mask cookies by Sweetopia that use this amazing decorating ingredient called "disco dust" (which we'll need to try because of the name alone):

In past years we've made beignets for breakfast, but we haven't tried to bake a King Cake as yet.

We were looking for cool jazz tunes to introduce our tweens to and stumbled upon this great organization called Jazz House Kids. Their mission is to introduce young people to the joy of jazz and provide them "with a unique opportunity to explore the rich heritage of this great American art form firsthand". They are "dedicated to improving the quality of life for young people through the medium of jazz and provide young people with an innovative concept of understanding music." We love that they celebrate "multiple intelligences" by teaching of jazz.

We're looking for some jazz music to play with our tweens tonight - do you have any suggestions?

Some other fun ways to celebrate Mardi Gras with tweens:

• A library in New Jersey held a tween dance party that featured an air guitar competition
• We thought this craft to make unique Mardi Gras masks was really well thought-out.
  

How will you ring in Fat Tuesday with your tween?

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