These Are the Gifts Tween Girls Will Be Happy to Receive

Tween girls are fun to shop for because they appreciate a wide range of gifts. Clothes and jewelry? Creativity kits? Room decor? Check, check, check. But the trick with this age group (generally considered from 8 to 12) is finding presents that match their maturity and don’t read as too babyish, says Jackie Schiavone, a Westport, Conn.-based fashion stylist and mum of a tween and teen girl. We asked Schiavone and other style pros to share their gift recommendations, so you can confidently shop for the tween girl on your list.

For making a personal style statement

Schiavone says that girls this age are often obsessed with initial jewelry, and Anthropologie’s 14-karat gold-plated Bubble Letter Necklace is a lovely take on the trend. The adjustable length (15 to 17 inches) on the snake-style chain means it works with different necklines and necklaces. “Tweens can stack it with other thin necklaces — think small beads and gold chains — or wear it solo as a statement piece,” Schiavone says.

For 3D design projects

“My daughter is 12 and really wants this 3D printer ,” says Brooklyn, N.Y.-based interior designer Jennifer Morris of JMorris Design . It comes with everything a tween needs to make their own toys and objects from non-toxic, biodegradable plastic. They can choose from the set’s 7,000 patterns (from toys to ornaments to planters) or create their own designs — a feature Morris appreciates. “I love giving an art gift that has creative freedom and doesn’t have a prescribed outcome,” she says.

For old-school selfies

Instant cameras, including the Instax Mini , are “the must-have tween gadget at the moment,” says Kimberly McLeod , the Toronto-based author of ” The Ultimate Book of Would You Rather Questions .” Digital natives get a kick out of seeing photos develop before their eyes, and they love the bubbly retro design and cute credit card-sized photos, she adds. This bundle supplies everything they need to capture memories: the camera (in blush pink, ice white, lilac purple, mint green or sky blue), a four-pack of Fuji film, a carrying case and a photo album.

For keeping cozy in style

Starting in the tween years, it’s “welcome to black clothing,” says Schiavone. This Sam. black and faux shearling jacket is a great gift (in fact, Schiavone has one that her daughter keeps stealing). She likes that the white faux shearling softens the black, while still feeling grown-up. Most importantly, it’s warm and cozy, with a faux sherpa lining, a sherpa-lined hood and impressive 90%-down, 10%-feather fill.

For staying inspired

A customizable letter board makes a fun gift for tweens because it lets them express themselves, says Athens, Greece-based Anna Tatsioni, lead interior designer at Decorilla , an online interior design service. This framed aqua felt board can be wall mounted or propped up on a surface and comes with 725 white and gold letters in different fonts to design with. Tweens like that they can keep changing up the message, whether it’s an inspiring quote, a personal mantra or a Taylor Swift lyric. “It also doubles as a great conversation starter when they have friends over,” Tatsioni says.

For a wardrobe staple

You can’t miss with black Lululemon Align leggings , says Schiavone. Tweens especially like the Mini Flare style because it doesn’t look like mom’s Lulus. The leggings are made from the brand’s signature super-soft and durable Nulu fabric, which means they feel wonderful and hold up well.

For screen-free fun

Morris loves this LED dart board for the fun factor. “Anything that encourages play and looks cute is a win,” she says. The acrylic target comes with a plug-in board and six darts for tweens to practice their aim — when they aren’t basking in its rainbow glow. “I love the light for an accent in a room,” Morris says.

For staying toasty — and connected

“A Bluetooth beanie hat is the gift of the season,” says Schiavone. Any tween with a smartphone, Apple Watch or iPad will love this cute pom-pom beanie with a smart upgrade: an embedded Bluetooth headset. Just pop the hat on and listen to a favorite song or podcast, or take mom’s call on the go. The knitted acrylic hat also comes in black, but Sciavone says “winter white is the way to go.”

For happy feet

Vans are back in style, and tweens are loving that they’re a bit bold and a breeze to kick on and off. In a fun color like olive green or not-so-basic black and off-white, “they’re just a classic,” says Morris.

For beauty lovers/For a beauty spree

“In the tween and teen years, half their wish list is for beauty products from Sephora, so I like to throw a gift card inside a fun cosmetic bag,” says interior designer Suzanne Flohr of Lennon and Flohr Interior Design in Charlottesville, S.C. You can personalize this Mark and Graham train case , which is made of printed canvas coated with plastic for easy cleaning. If you want to stock it with something besides a gift card, toss in Summer Fridays Holiday Lip Butter Set , a favorite of the middle-school set.

For blemish busting

“These Hero Cosmetics pimple patches may be the ultimate stocking stuffer,” says Schiavone. They’re invisible patches made with medical-grade hydrocolloid, a gel used to heal wounds and acne. When you peel the patch off, it removes gunk from the pimple, helping it to heal. “Everyone in my house uses these patches, including my son,” she says.

Must even steak be politicised? The American Heart Association recently recommended eating more “plant-based” protein in a move to counter the Health and Human Services Department’s new guidelines calling for more red meat.

Few would argue that eating a Big Mac a day is good for you.

On the other hand, growing evidence, including a study last month in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that eating more meat—particularly unprocessed red meat—can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s in the quarter or so of people with a particular genetic predisposition.

The APOE4 gene variant is one of the biggest risk factors for Alzheimer’s.

You inherit one copy of the APOE gene from each parent. The most common variant is APOE3; the least is APOE2.

The latter carries a lower risk of Alzheimer’s, while the former is neutral. A quarter of people carry one copy of the APOE4 variant, and about 2% carry two.

APOE4 is more common among people with Northern European and African ancestry. In Europe the variant increases with latitude, and is present in as many as 27% of people in northern countries versus 4% in southern ones. God smiled on the Italians and Greeks.

For unknown reasons, the APOE4 variant increases the risk of Alzheimer’s far more for women than men.

Women’s risk multiplies roughly fourfold if they have one copy and tenfold if they have two. Men with a single copy show little if any higher risk, while those with two face four times the risk.

What makes APOE4 so pernicious? Scientists don’t know exactly, but the variant is also associated with higher cholesterol levels—even among thin people who eat healthily.

Scientists have found that cholesterol builds up in brain cells of APOE4 carriers, which can disrupt communications between neurons and generate amyloid plaque, an Alzheimer’s hallmark.

The Heart Association’s recommendation to eat less red meat may be sound advice for people with high cholesterol caused by indulgent diets.

But a diet high in red meat may be better for the brains of APOE4 carriers.

In the JAMA study, researchers at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute examined how diet, particularly meat consumption, affects dementia risk among seniors with the different APOE variants.

Higher consumption of meat, especially unprocessed red meat, was associated with significantly lower dementia risk for APOE4 carriers.

APOE4 carriers who consumed the most meat—the equivalent of 4.5 ounces a day—were no more likely to develop dementia than noncarriers. (

The study controlled for other variables that are known to affect Alzheimer’s risk including sex, age, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption and education.)

APOE4 carriers who ate the most unprocessed meat were at significantly lower risk of dying over the study’s 15-year period and had lower cholesterol than carriers who ate less. Go figure. Noncarriers, however, didn’tenjoy similar benefits from eating more red meat.

The study’s findings are consistent with two large U.K. studies.

One found that each additional 50 grams of red meat (equivalent to half a hamburger patty) that an APOE4 carrier consumed each day was associated with a 36% reduced risk of dementia.

The other found that older women who carried the APOE4 variant and consumed at least one serving a day of unprocessed red meat had a cognitive advantage over carriers who ate less than half a serving, and that this advantage was of roughly equal magnitude to the cognitive disadvantage observed among APOE4 carriers in general.

In all three studies, eating more red meat appeared to negate the increased genetic risk of APOE4.

Perhaps one reason men with the variant are at lower Alzheimer’s risk than women is that men eat more red meat.

These findings might cause chagrin to women who rag their husbands about ordering the rib-eye instead of the heart-healthy salmon.

But remember, the cognitive benefits of eating more red meat appear isolated to APOE4 carriers.

Nutrition is complicated, and categorical recommendations—other than perhaps to avoid nutritionally devoid foods—would best be avoided by governments and health bodies.

Readers can order an at-home test from any number of companies to screen for the APOE4 variant.

The Swedish researchers hypothesize that APOE4 carriers may be evolutionarily adapted to carnivorous diets, since the variant is believed to have emerged between one million and six million years ago during a “hypercarnivorous” period in human history.

The other two APOE variants originated more recently, during eras when humans ate more plants.

APOE4 carriers may absorb more nutrients from meat than plants, the researchers surmise. Vitamin B12—low levels have been associated with cognitive decline—isn’t naturally present in plant-based foods but is abundant in red meat.

Foods high in phytates (such as grains and beans) can interfere with absorption of zinc and iron (also high in red meat), which naturally declines with age. So maybe don’t chuck your steak yet.