A Royal Wedding Pajama and Tiara Party With Tweens

Our tweens are getting up early to watch the Royal Wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William this Friday morning, and we'll celebrate by having a traditional British tea for breakfast (the wedding will be at 11am London time which will be 6am here in Washington). An event with this much (literal!) pomp and circumstance does not happen everyday, and the spectacle of the event has piqued all of our tweens' curiosity.

On the menu: scones, clotted cream, raspberry jam, lemon curd, strawberries with cream, and (of course!) English Breakfast tea. We are definitely not morning people, so to make things easier the tweens will mix the dry ingredients for the scones the night before. When the alarm clock rings, we'll take the cold scone mix out of the fridge, add the eggs and buttermilk and then bake them off (these scones will turn out extra light and flakey as a result of the overnight chilling). Scones are easy to make with tweens because the dough requires so little handling - and in fact turns out better the less it is mixed - and this last step can be done while still groggy. Our favorite recipe for scones is from Martha Stewart.

We'll watch the Royal Wedding and have breakfast in bed before school on Friday morning. The tweens will be in their pajamas and wearing any tiaras we find in their old dress-up bin. Your tween could also make a pipe cleaner tiara and ring just for the event with pipe cleaners and beads - bonus points for using a red, white and blue theme.

Should you have the energy at 6am to decorate, check out this funky Rule Britannia party theme for a Royal Wedding Viewing Party from Bird's Party:

In doing research on what to serve at a Royal Wedding viewing party, we came across a company that makes "jellies" (the American version is Jell-O): Bompas and Parr. This company is run by two young British guys who are on a mission to bring Jell-O back into style. They've done jelly art installations at the SFMOMA and are known for making fantastic flavor combinations and architectural interesting jellies. They've made a special jelly mold of Buckingham Palace in honor of the wedding, and here's their piece from The Today Show earlier this week:

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A Tween's Report on the 2011 White House Easter Egg Roll

We were fortunate enough to receive tickets to this year's White House Easter Egg Roll, and one of our tweens wrote this report of our experience:

The White House Easter Egg Roll 2011 was an amazing experience. Despite the heat and long lines, the event was amazing. Thousands of families milled around the White House Ellipse Garden in front of the White House participating in many activities, booths, and performances that the whole family could enjoy. The theme of this year's Roll was "Get Up And Go!" which partners Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" movement. The booths were all about staying healthy and eating right by showing parents (and kids) new recipes and ways to get active through fun activities. 

Being an Easter Egg Roll, there had to be one as one of the many activities. The roll was directly in front of the White House and allowed kids of all ages to try and roll a colorful egg to the Finish line first by hitting it with a spoon. The toddlers and younger kids just scooted the egg along with the help of their parents and occasionally got distracted and would run off with the egg in hand. However, the older kids flicked the egg across the grass with a fiery determination in their eyes. Another activity, inspired by the Easter Bunny, was called "Hop To It!" in which there was many types of jump rope contests for kids to try. 

Families were not the only ones on the White House grounds, there was a large number of small children cartoon and storybook characters who were there to take pictures with the little kids. To name a few, there was Peter Rabbit, Curious George, Word Girl, Madeleine, Clifford, and Diego. Speaking of stories, the grandson of the author of Madeleine was there to read one of the Madeleine stories to the kids in the story area. Barrack Obama was there to, to read a story to the little kids. Willow Smith was also at the Roll to sing 21st Girl. Another performance took place there in the afternoon were a band called Mindless Behavior. They are a group of young teenagers who are friends in a band. They are all extremely talented in dancing and singing. While they performed, a woman was on the stage using sign-language to communicate the lyrics of the song to some of the deaf people in the crowd. I found this as an extremely kind and touching gesture. Towards the end of the event, Malia and Sasha Obama came out of the White House to enjoy the weather and watch the Mindless Behavior concert. As everyone was leaving, we were handed Easter inspired gifts: a colorful egg with the White House Easter Egg Roll logo on one side and Barack and Michelle Obama's signatures on the other, and a box of Peeps. The Roll of 2011 was a great and well-done event that will make this year's Easter one to remember.

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Best Last-Minute Easter Gifts For Tweens - All Under $5

In case you've left Easter shopping to the last-minute - or just need a few little items to hide in their eggs in addition to all that candy - here are our quick picks for a tween's Easter basket (all of which can be found at the drugstore):
- Revlon's scented nail polishes - these come in scents like "beach", "lemon", and "lilac"
- SillyBandz ('nuf said)
- $5 gift cards from iTunes
- Mini erasers from Japan
- Patterned duct tape (fantastic for craft projects - our tweens are partial to the neon and tie-dye ones)
- Colorful ponytail elastics
- <a href="http://shoptwixt.blogspot.com/2011/04/best-easter-basket-gifts-for-tweens-for.html">Lingo rubber bracelets</a>
- Wisp portable, disposable toothbrushes - especially if your tween has braces
- Silly Putty (Bonus: these containers are egg-shaped!)

Have fun this Easter, and stay tuned for our tweens' live report from the White House Easter Egg Roll on Monday!

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Best Easter Basket Gifts for Tweens - For Less Than $2.00

We just found these cool bracelets for tweens at our local CVS. They're just $1.99 and are perfect to hide in plastic eggs during our tweens' Easter egg hunt. We love that they are age-appropriate for tweens and will help to make their Easter not too little-kid-like.

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The Perfect Gift for the Golden Prize Egg on Easter for Tweens

This year, our tweens' golden eggs in the Easter egg hunt will contain these beautiful sterling silver and glass lockets. We've strung them on simple silk cords to match their Easter dresses. These lockets are glass on both sides and can be filled whatever the tweens choose to insert - sort of live a mini-shadow box. We can't wait to see what they put in their lockets!

Similar lockets from UncommonGoods.com

Tweens, First Periods, Designer Pads and the New York Times

We were a bit shocked to read the article in today's New York Times, "A Younger Group For Feminine Products". The article, which ran in the Times' Advertising column, focused on Kotex's launch of a new line of feminine products for tween girls called "U by Kotex Tween" and their corresponding websites for girls (www.UbyKotex.com/HelloPeriod) and for moms (www.Kotex.com/tween).

According to Kotex' research, girls are getting their first periods as young as age 8 (which was the part that shocked us) - according to the "Journal of Adolescent Health" in 2007, the average age for first periods was 12.4 years old, and cited in the New York Times article is the medical journal "Pediatrics" which found that 15% of girls in the U.S. have their first period at age 7. We could not find that study in "Pediatrics" but did find a study in "Pediatrics" from 2006 that stated that only 10% of girls have their period by age 11 and that "studies have confirmed that a higher gain in body mass index (BMI) during childhood is related to an earlier onset of puberty."

The website for moms is educational and features Dr. Lissa Rankin, a gynecologist and author of “What’s Up Down There?: Questions You’d Only Ask Your Gynecologist if She Was Your Best Friend.” Dr. Rankin says, "A lot of moms have a hard time even talking to their own peers about this issue and have to get over their own embarrassment so they can have a candid, fun and supportive conversation with their daughters." The website for girls features written accounts of girls dealing with their first periods and a section to ask questions (which ironically requires users to verify that they are at least 13 years old - which we understand is necessary for COPPA compliance but is at odds with a website directed at tweens). We appreciate that both sites offer content that is focused more on education and less on product sales.

Kotex is also apparently running an online design contest to make pads more fashionable; the winner gets to meet fashion designer Patricia Field.

Other recent articles on medical studies and tween health are here:

• A link between tuning out to music and depression in tweens and teens
• "Facebook Depression" in tweens and teens
• Tweens need sleep - and are not getting near enough

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The Best Easter Basket Gifts for Tweens: Glitter Peeps Necklace

We came across this glittery Peeps necklace and think it is the perfect accessory to gild your tween's Easter outfit. We love that it reminds us of our favorite colorful marshmallow but won't upset the orthodontist.

Available at the Peeps Online Store; necklace in pink or yellow glitter $12.90

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A Lilly Beach Cruiser!

We just heard of the most amazing bike: a beach cruiser made in a Lilly Pulitzer print! This would be perfect for hanging out at the beach - the ultimate for your Lilly-lover.

$450 by special order

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Dolce and Gabbana Heart Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber is on his World Tour, and this weekend he played in Milan, Italy. Major fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of Dolce & Gabbana threw a party for The Biebs after his concert on Saturday night. The designers are fans of the star, and he has been sporting their clothes at recent awards shows.

Dolce & Gabbana hosted the party at their restaurant, Gold, and set up a VIP area with the star's name in huge gold letters. Mr. Gabbana said: "We like him a lot, although he's very young, he's very attentive towards style and he takes care of his look".

Photo credits: The Telegraph

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Addressing The Issues Facing Women and Girls on the World Stage

We've just learned about an amazing organization that is working to highlight the issues facing women and girls worldwide, but they're doing it in a very different way: by mirroring the structure of the G20 Summit and addressing economic factors (such as economic freedom, health, education, issues facing adolescent girls, and gender equality, poverty and economic growth) that can raise up women and girls around the world. The Girls20Summit had its first meeting in Toronto last year (the site of last year's G20 Summit) and is meeting again in Paris this fall (in the same country as this year's G20 Summit). It brings together 20 young women from around the world "to encourage G8 and G20 leaders to elevate the importance of political empowerment and economic freedom for girls and women in developed and developing nations."

"The Girls20 Summit is modeled after the G20 Summit and will convene one girl from each G20 country plus one girl from the African Union chair country (Equatorial Guinea). Delegates will come together two weeks before the G20 Leaders to discuss, debate and design innovative ideas." One young woman will be chosen from applicants to represent each of the following G20 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the USA, a representative of the European Union, and a representative from the African Union Chair country, Equatorial Guinea.

If you know a young woman 18-20 years old interested in working with this organization, she can apply online to become a Girls20Summit Delegate. Applications are due April 15th, and the Girls20Summit will be held in Paris, October 18 - 21, 2011.

This organization has some heavyweight powers supporting it including Melinda Gates, the Clinton Foundation, the NIKE Foundation, the World Bank, and Goldman Sachs.

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