National Candy Corn Day is October 31st

We love candy corn, and Halloween is, of course, National Candy Day. We stumbled upon this fun cookie recipe for Candy Corn Cookies - it is super easy and a great after-school project or Halloween-day project for tweens:

You'll need:
- one batch of sugar cookie dough (your favorite recipe or mix)
- orange paste food color (if you use the liquid drops, add a tad more flour to the dough)
- 2 squares (2 oz.) of semisweet chocolate melted.

1. Line a loaf pan with waxed paper, extending paper over sides of pan.
2. On work surface, place 3/4 cup dough. Knead about 4 slashes of orange food paste into dough until color is well incorporated. Press this orange dough evenly in bottom of loaf pan.
3. Divide remaining dough in half. Gently press one half of remaining dough (un-colored) into pan on top of orange dough. 
4. On work surface, knead chocolate into remaining dough until the dough is well mixed and looks like chocolate throughout. Press this chocolate cookie dough over the plain dough in pan, pressing gently to edge of pan. 
5. Refrigerate 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until firm.
6. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove dough from pan. Cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice into 5 wedges. On ungreased cookie sheet, place wedges 1 inch apart.
7. Bake 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are set and edges are very light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet. Cool completely. Store in tightly covered container.

Photo and recipe adapted from Betty Crocker.

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Back by Popular Demand: Taylor Swift on Halloween

Tween singing superstar Taylor Swift says her mantra for Halloween is NOT to be sexy, but to be scary. Ms. Swift gave an interview to MTV sharing, "I felt all the girls in our school kind of used Halloween as an excuse to take all their clothes off and parade around." She added, "They would tan weeks in advance so that they could bare it all on Halloween. I'm like, 'That's not the point.' You're supposed to be scary." Last year, Ms. Swift dressed up as Chewbacca along with her best friend explaining, "Abigail and I have always been sort of anti-teeny-tiny, little costumes."

It is refreshing to see tween celebrity favorites voice common-sense and independence on such topics and to treat their positions as tween role models responsibly. Ms. Swift is to be commended on her stance of not bowing to peer pressure and demonstrating how going one's own way doesn't detract from the festivities.

There have been several news stories recently about the sexualization of tween girls on Halloween, and it can often be difficult to find age-appropriate costumes. Thankfully, girls this age are creative and resourceful, and many opt to craft their own unique looks for Halloween. As a parent of three tween girls, I am thrilled to have another example of a high profile tween celebrity reinforcing a spirit of independent thinking and resistance to peer pressure.

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Perfect Non-Sweet Treat for Tweens on Halloween

We saw these and flipped! Twixt has always sold these cool Lego-like Zip Zip drives, and customers love them because they're fun and perfect for storing homework files.

Now Zip Zip has come out with a glow-in-the-dark version just in time for Halloween - so cool! They also work as light up keychains, and with Day Light Savings Time around the corner (next Sunday, November 7), these are great for our tween's backpacks. Ms Twixt plans to include these in our tweens' ghost gift baskets.

$35 for 2GB from MyZipZip.com

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Back by Popular Demand: 'Tis the Season: Candy Corn Mania

We originally ran this post last year, but we've had many requests to bring it back.

We love candy corn! Here's a smattering of what we found to celebrate this Halloween icon:

SEE: Possibly the World's Largest candy corn is at Disneyland's California Adventures Sunshine Plaza where the Mouse transformed the "California" sign as giant candy corn.




WEAR: How cute is this Candy Corn fairy costume for a tween? ($40 from Chasing-Fireflies.com; accessories not included)


MAKE: There are a million ways to use candy corn in baking; these cupcakes were cute and original (photo from iheartcuppycakes1 on Flickr)



GIVE: A sweet way gift for your tween that won't anger her orthodontist: a plush Cornelius Candy Corn from artist Dan Goodsell ($6.99 from myplasticheart.com)



CRAFT: Here's a free(!) pattern to download for your crafty tween to knit her own candy corn hat! Pattern courtesy of Material Whirled.



DRINK: A fun Halloween party beverage from Jones Soda Company: Candy Corn Soda. Be warned: this is SUPER sweet (good thing it comes in such small cans). These used to be available at Target, but no longer; try your local World Market instead. ($1.50 for 4 8-oz cans)


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New Greyson Chance Single: Waiting Outside the Lines

Remember 11-year old singing phenom Greyson Chance? His first single came out yesterday on The Ellen Show. Once again, he's amazing. It's called "Waiting Outside the Lines", and the video is below:




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A Real Hello Kitty Car

In celebration of Sanrio's 50th anniversary, Smart Car has created three Hello Kitty wrapped Smart Cars. Even though tweens are too young to drive, they'll love seeing these cute cars. The cars are available for order for those so inclined, and they can be seen on a national tour here.

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Fun for Tweens: How-To Do a Candy Corn Manicure

Just in time for Halloween: a fun how-to for a Candy Corn manicure!

This is from a cute blog by Babbling Brooke who is a tad nail polish obsessed, but lucky for us, she shares - here's her guide for a fun Candy Corn manicure:

1. Use two coats of yellow nail polish (she used Need Sunglasses by OPI)
2. Then paint on a coat of orange using a either a French manicure nail guide or simply swooshing a curved line. Paint to the ends, leaving a stripe of the yellow showing at the base of the nail
3. Use a French manicure white nail pen or tip paint to do the ends in white
4. Paint on two layers of top coat to smooth out the layered look and feel of this manicure

Sweet!

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United Nations Day for Students

Yesterday, October 24, was United Nations Day. If your tween is doing Trick or Treat for UNICEF or has purchased that cool FEED Trick or Treat bag we wrote about earlier, she or he may also be interested in learning more about U.N. Day. (BTW, tween star Selena Gomez is a current UNICEF Ambassador - the youngest ever)

U.N. Day marks the date the UN was created in 1945. According to the current U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, "UN Day is a day on which we resolve to do more.  More to protect those caught up in armed conflict, to fight climate change and avert nuclear catastrophe; more to expand opportunities for women and girls, and to combat injustice and impunity; more to meet the Millennium Development Goals." Pretty cool stuff.

Tweens can read more about United Nations Day on their website with a special section for students here.

In our tweens' middle school, they've just started Model U.N., and that's been really exciting in our house. Model U.N. is a debate program offered by many schools in which students step into the shoes of ambassadors from U.N. member states to debate current issues. It's an amazing program to help tweens grow into themselves as researchers, as advocates, and as public speakers in a safe, age-appropriate way.

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First Tweens' Parent Teacher Conferences

Now that the school year is off and running, it's already time for the first parent-teacher conference. Yesterday, the President and First Lady attended parent-teacher conferences for First Tweens Malia and Sasha Obama at Sidwell Friends School. Ms. Sasha Obama is in fourth grade at the lower school campus of Sidwell in Bethesda, Maryland, and Ms. Malia Obama is in seventh grade at the middle school campus in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington, DC. According to the Associated Press, President Obama has never missed a parent-teacher conference in either Chicago or Washington.

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Tween Flick Fave Transformers 3 Filming in Washington This Week

We wrote earlier about the opportunity to be an extra during the D.C. filming of the Transformers 3 movie, but in case that didn't work out, you're still able to watch the filming every night this week on the National Mall. The footage has been pretty exciting, and although it is the middle of the school week, tweens will love watching the action. Filming takes place this week after 630pm, and roads are closed between 630pm and 630am.  So far, they've shot in front of DAR Constitution Hall, the Capitol, and the National Gallery. Stars Shia LaBeouf and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley along with Josh Duhamel are all in town this week as well, so the District has also had a rash of celebrity sightings.


More information on the D.C. Film Office's site or the production's information hotline: (202) 540-8039, or email E73Production@gmail.com.

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A Tween Killer Combo: Justin Bieber and Silly Bandz

In addition to Beeb's-inspired nail polish, your tween can now add to her Silly Bandz collection with Silly Bieber rubber bands. That's right: the tween heart throb can now adorn the wrist of tweens everywhere with six different styles of Justin Bieber Silly Bandz. The Bieber Pack comes with 24 Justin Bieber-shaped Silly Bandz:  Headphones, Music Note, I Heart JB, Bieber Heart, and Justin Singing. Not yet in stores, these are available online here for $5.95.

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Perfect Halloween Tote for Tweens

Tweens are definitely still into trick-or-treating - this year, give them a tote with purpose: the FEED Trick or Treat for UNICEF bag. Available only at HSN, the tote costs $13.20 - and for each bag sold, HSN donates $3.50 to UNICEF.

Do you know about the FEED Foundation? Founded by Presidential niece Lauren Bush in 2007, FEED's mission is to raise awareness and funds to ensure nutritious school meals for all children as a first step to improving the global food system. To date, they have provided over 50 million school meals to children in the developing world through the United Nations World Food Progam school feeding operations through the sale of their tote bags.


We love their bags for the cause they support and for the idea of putting fashion to work for the greater good. Tween designers-in-training will love the article on how Lauren Bush created FEED and its first ready-to-wear line, Lauren Pierce.

Between the Trick or Treat for UNICEF boxes and this tote, Halloween can be a do-good holiday too.

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Justin Bieber Rolling Out a Line of Nail Polishes for Tween Girls

Tween singing sensation Justin Bieber is launching a new line of nail polishes for tween girls called "One Less Lonely Girl." He is partnering with OPI's Nicole brand, and the collection of six polishes will be available in December at Wal-Mart. The colors include: One Less Lonely Glitter (lavender), Prized Possession Purple (grape), Give Me The First Dance (silver), Me + Blue (dark blue), OMB! (bright red), and Step 2 the Beat of My Heart (heart-shaped glitter). We're sure that these will be at the top of many tween's holiday shopping lists.

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Disney Channel's Madison Pettis in D.C.

Corey In the House's Madison Pettis was in Washington last night for the annual USO Gala to raise funds to support our troops.  Ms. Pettis has been on two USO tours (Hawaii and Germany) and is the youngest star to tour with the USO. She visited the real White House during her visit - on the Disney Channel show, she plays the President's daughter.

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A Sweet New Book by Dylan's Candy Bar

We LOVE sweets and were so excited to see that a new book by Dylan's Candy Bar is out today: "Unwrap Your Sweet Life". We haven't received our copy as yet, but the book is full of amazing photos, candy craft ideas, and party planning tips. As of today, Dylan Lauren has not announced any book tour dates in the D.C. area, but we'll keep you posted.

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Summit on Healthy Media for Youth Today on Capitol Hill

Super stars Geena Davis and Alfre Woodard headlined the "Healthy Media for Youth Summit" today on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The event was co-sponsored by Girl Scouts of the USA, The National Association of Broadcasters, The National Cable and Telecommunications Association, and The Creative Coalition.

The Summit explored the impact of the media on youth, especially girls', self image and brought together a coalition to promote healthy and positive images of women and girls through industry best practices, media literacy programs, career exploration, and opportunities for girls.

Ms. Davis said, "I have spent most of my adult life advocating for women and girls," and has advocated to put more strong female characters on screen. She spoke about how "a group did a study after 'Commander in Chief' was on the air that showed that people who watched the show were 68% more likely to vote for a female candidate after watching just one season. It speaks to the point where if you see it, you can be it."

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Are Tween Babysitters Able to Deal with Emergencies?

A new study released this weekend by the American Academy of Pediatrics had some mixed results about tween-age babysitters:

• 40 percent of babysitters between the ages of 11 to 13 say they had left children unattended while babysitting, and 
• 20 percent say they opened the door to strangers. 

The good news is that of the surveyed tween babysitters:

• 98 percent knew how to reach the emergency contact
• 92 percent knew the location of the first aid supplies
• 85 percent knew who to contact if a child was poisoned
• 64 percent knew where the fire extinguishers were located

The AAP surveyed 727 tweens, 51 percent who had taken a professional first aid class, 47 percent had taken a CPR class, and 19 percent had Red Cross Babysitting Certification. (Full disclosure: Ms. Twixt's eldest tween babysits and is Red Cross certified.)

Does your tween babysit? Does she have formal training? What's her level of confidence to handle an emergency? What's yours?

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