Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest impression, and when it comes to back to school shopping, it may be the backpack we spend all our time stressing about, when it turns out to be the $1 hamster eraser or the personalized pencil case that our kids love and cherish like nothing else. So we’ve scoured the web for you to track down two dozen of the very coolest school supplies and fun accessories to make all this preparation a little more fun. For both of you.
Flying colors rainbow tape dispenser ($11.99, coming soon to Perpetual Kid)
And what would our guide be without a killer giveaway? We’ve got over $1000 worth of prizes up for grabs, including goodies for your kid and goodies for you. Just scroll down to the bottom of this post for the details. Promise, it’s easy to enter.
We’re so pleased that our guide is brought to you by HP, who we are thrilled to be working with this year. If you haven’t taken a peek at the HP Instant Ink replacement service, then now is the time before the homework and school projects and 4000 things you need to print start piling up. You can save up to 50% off the cost of HP original ink, plus your printer will actually alert HP when you’re running out of ink and auto-ship it to you for as little as $2.99 a month, which means saving more time and more money. And psst…if you checked out our post on cool back to school printables, you know just how valuable that can be.
Happy shopping!
All our picks have been editorially picked by our staff. There has been no compensation for picks. Cool Mom Picks is a reward style and Amazon affiliate and some picks may include affiliate links which you can click to support what we do.
Cork globe ($129, cb2) | Handmade pencil case upcycled from vintage jeans ($32, Cool Mom Picks indie shop) | Subway pattern Washi Tape ($3.99, Staples) | Retro cassette tape pencil holder ($13, Little Itsy store) | USA chalkboard map ($139 on sale, RH Baby and Child) | Novelty post-it notes ($3.29+/2 pad sets, Staples) | Grunge 3-ring binder ($21.95, Zazzle)
Ninja Pencils ($7.99, Perpetual Kid)
Rock Star Journal ($17, Ecojot) | Draw-it-Yourself Calculator ($9.99, Perpetual Kid) | Wild Things iPod Case ($15, Society 6) | Dream Big, Kid wall pennant ($64, Cool Mom Picks Indie Shop at Great.ly) | Giraffe chalkboard ($56, Cool Mom Picks indie shop at great.ly) | Cheerful pencils ($10, Burke Decor) | Heart push pins ($2.99, Yoobi for Target)
personalized children’s bookplates $18/12, the fox and the teacup
Personalized pencil cases ($24.95, Tiny Me) | Coordinated desk set ($49, other colors too, Poppin) | Mr Sulu Flash Drive ($19.99+, Mimobot) | Kawaii rainbow backpack key chain ($8.50, mymini) | Printable bookplates (Free, Orange You Lucky) | Acme Studio Rollerball Pen ($34, Design Mafia) | hamster erasers ($1, Stubby Pencil Studio)
EXTRA COOL: WIN IT!
We’re so excited to give away one massive Back to School prize pack valued at more than $1000, filled with back-to-school essentials for both kids…and moms! Because let’s be honest, we’re going to be working hard too, this school year. We deserve a designer handbag, right?
PRIZE INCLUDES:
1 Mad Pax Warp Speed Bubble backpack | 2. Superga sneakers for kids | 3. Big white box of Back to School essentials from Yoobi | 4. Late July snack pack | 5. Griffin Kazoo MyPhones kids’ headphones | 6. HP ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One Printer + 6 months ink subscription from our sponsor HP | 7. Fanny Wang 1000 series on ear headphones for women | 8. Target gift card for the kids and a Sephora gift card for you | 9. momAgenda personal organizer | 10. Superga sneakers for moms | 11. Rebecca Minkoff ‘MAB’ Leather Tote. Because we love you.
Thanks to all that entered and congrats to the winner! THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED
Thank you so so much to our wonderful sponsor HP, the makers of the HP ENVY 5530 e-All-in-One which is perfect for students and families. It features the innovative HP Instant Ink replacement service that makes printing easier and more affordable than ever, starting as low as $2.99/month.
Other 2014 Back to School Guide posts:
The coolest preschool backpacks
The coolest backpacks and bags for big kids
The coolest lunch boxes and lunch bags
The coolest lunch box accessories
The coolest back to school printables
201 responses to “The coolest school supplies to make school more fun: Back to School Guide 2014”
Loved me some gel pens. And those zippered binders- because I was an overly organized nerd
My KISS notebook.
I loved to cover my books with a brown paper bag then cover it with stickers!
Oh man, would love to win. And my FAV was ANYTHING Lisa Frank
LOVED getting a new Trapper Keeper every year. Back to school is the best!
My trapper keeper was my favorite and my lisa frank notebooks! I loved the tiger design!
Fan on facebook and shared https://www.facebook.com/betty.baez.7/posts/963529760329005
Follow on twitter @angelgeniusjail and tweeted https://twitter.com/angelgeniusjail/status/501893494357512192
My favorite was always Lisa Frank notebooks and stretchy book covers.
My trapper keeper
Oh if only back to school supplies were so cool when I was a kid! I was very proud of a metal pencil tin with rainbows on with a matching rainbow and cloud scented eraser!
Love the rainbow tape dispenser!
I always loved those trapped keepers! I couldn’t wait to go pick out a new one each year!
My favorite was the smelly markers! I definitely got ink under my nose on MANY occasions!
I loved my Charlie Brown lunch thermos.
I loved my new Trapper Keeper each year…complete with tabbed file dividers. NERD ALERT!!! 😀
My favorite was my trapper keeper and scratch ‘n sniff stickers!
I loved getting my new fun erasers every year. My friends and I collected them in our desks, but we never did use them! They were too cute to get dirty!! Ha!
I loves my New Kids on the Block folders
A new Trapper Keeper of course!
I loved picking out new notebooks with different colored covers to match a folder for each subject. History was ALWAYS red!!!
Hello Kitty pencil case.
Loved jelly pens and stickers
Trapper keeper!!! Loved it 🙂
My fav was the pen that could write in multiple colors with the click of a button.
Smelly erasers
Trapper keeper all the way!!!
Trapper Keeper!
https://mobile.twitter.com/coolmompicks
My favorite back to school supply was a brand new box of crayons. It was always a great feeling to take the new crayon out of the box for the first time.
I loved all the Hello Kitty/Sanrio stuff for school – they had entire an entire store dedicated to fulfill my school wish list.
Fuzzy troll pencils 🙂
The Trapper Keeper. How I loved the Trapper Keeper.
Loved back-to-school shopping. I had a bit of a Garfield obsession (it was the 80s!) and loved all my Garfield-themed supplies (lunchbox, folders, notebooks, etc.).
And here’s my tweet! 🙂
https://twitter.com/ms_lbd/status/501915199763644416
My favorite was my Trapper Keeper! Whatever happened to those…they were the best!! 🙂
Pencil cases!
I agree!! Was a DIY-er since I was a kid – so Pencil Cases filled that VOID in school – Stickers EVERYWHERE 😛
Trapper keeper, of course. The smell, the stickiness of that plastic. Awesome ‘Nelson’ (yes, the band) folders for the inside. Totally stylin!
I loved getting new pencils & erasers that were scented, oh and stickers, I decorated everything with stickers 🙂
Scented markers, new pencils, and Hello Kitty pencil boxes. Aah… the glory days. 🙂
Lisa Frank folders and pencils!
New pencils and pencil case (:
Pencil/pen pouch
Trapper Keeper!
I loved the pastel gel pens! Thinking more… practically, I had an amazing pen/mechanical pencil combo from Disneyland that was super sweet. And of course, the four color pens! I liked to have options!
Definitely the Trapper Keeper. Oh and anything Lisa Frank! 🙂
Stickers! Also loved erasers.
Loved getting all different types of cool pens! My siblings and I would divide all the new things up the night before. It was so much fun!
My rainbow Trapper Keeper with unicorn folders 🙂
I loved a good Trapper Keeper!
The “fuzzy top” pens!
Definitely my trapper keeper!
I tweeted! https://twitter.com/ColetteRuby/status/501962494051487746
I loved my Keroppi pencil box.
Shared on facebook, not sure how to grab the link for the specific post, but here ya go! https://www.facebook.com/nicole.biddle
I always loved a NEW click eraser. The kind that looked like a pen or pencil. Loved the feel of erasing something with a fresh eraser!
New packs of colored pencils and Lisa frank erasers.
I loved my Hello Kitty pencil box with all kinds of compartments. This was the 80s and Hello Kitty was a BIG deal…much as HK is now. 🙂
Tweeted! https://twitter.com/alisonkallstrom/status/501974738600615936
I always loved the big box of 64 crayons.
Tweeted https://twitter.com/irishchick60/status/502039119447719936
I loved lisa frank items! We’d go to Big Wheel and spend a long time looking in that aisle!!
I just loved pristine new notebooks, and pencils, just the basics and everything shiny and new was so exciting for some reason.
My trapper keeper in the 2nd grade, it had 3 golden lab puppies on it. I remember being absolutely giddy about it on the 1st day of school. The folders, the pockets, the Velcro, I had arrived.
A brand new Trapper Keeper was about as exciting as a new toy 🙂
Tweet! Tweet!
https://twitter.com/ajrivers/status/502066351293206529
My fav as a kid was the Crayola megapak of crayons that had the sharpener on the back…although I never got it :-(. I did have a Trapper Keeper once and loved it.
I loved getting pencil cases and new pens/pencils!
I loved planners and highlighters. I was (and still am) a big to do list person and used highlighters to cross everything off.
My all time fav school supply accessory was my mother’s pencil box. Not only did it hold pencils 🙂 but it also had a compartment at the top with a perfectly carved out circle just the right size to hold quarters!
My favorite school accessory was my Clifford (the big red dog) pencil topper/eraser. I never used him to erase things, though. He was too awesome to ruin.
I love the USA Chalkboard Map. I have a map-crazy kid!
Tweeted – https://twitter.com/dmarie824/status/502100911880011776
My fave back to school accessory was a clip on fuzzy animal pencil case!!
https://twitter.com/coolmompicks/status/501919192833335297 @eyewonit
https://www.facebook.com/nancy.reid.921/posts/10204694930323022
https://twitter.com/BiancaAHammond/status/502113744625741824 tweeted!
I love the fuzzy animal pencil case! So cute!
I thought I was so cool to finally get a Trapper Keeper! Loved it!
I shared! HELLO
https://www.facebook.com/aakinniyi1/posts/10203592008298114
https://twitter.com/AnnsTipToes/status/502133351516758017
Tweeted @annstiptoes
scratch and sniff stickers!
My son LOVES giraffes, so I’d have to go with the chalkboard!
When I was a kid, the “it” accessory for school were the Lisa Frank folders. Shiny, foil-y, amazingness that every girl wanted to use!
Picking out a new Trapper Keeper… uh, does that give away my age?
Tweeted! @klochelkluckle https://twitter.com/klochelkluckle/status/502156650786988032
TrapperKeeper for sure!
LOVED my trapper keeper. you know, the one with the unicorn jumping through the rainbow. lots of good vinyl to doodle on!
I grew up in one of those families where we didn’t really get a lot of new school supplies (hooray for free lunches!) But grandma did make sure I always got a new pair of shoes every year. Girl shoes even, not just hand me downs from my big brother. (I will say it helped me appreciate what I have now that much more, and since we can, we buy extra supplies for the teacher to distribute to any kids that don’t get new supplies.)
My dolphin trapper keeper and the awesome smellicicious marker set!
Trapper Keeper!
favorite back to school accessory from when you were a kid.
I always liked the book covers. I guess they don’t do that anymore. We actually made them ourselves outta brown paper bags and decorated them and it was great fun!
https://www.facebook.com/dropastitch/posts/937259829623648
My favorite accessory was my denim covered binders which I covered with colored marker graffiti and have to this day.
I LOVED my lisa frank notebooks and stickers that matched!
I got new shoes for school every year – so exciting!
My new clothes that I got for my birthday on Sept 2.
I loved my Hello Kitty pencil case and all the fun erasers I used to have!
I had a jumbo sparkly Disney pencil in third grade. With it, I wrote my assignments in tiny, tiny script. The nuns were not pleased!
Anything Lisa Frank!
I don’t remember much of what I brought to school. There were some great lunchboxes – metal back then.
Lunch boxes were my favorite school accessory!
All Time Favorite School Supply – a Brand NEW Composition Book – Super Loved the Old School One Black and White ones compared to the 5 Star Spiral Notebooks 🙂
Dukes of Hazzard metal lunch box
https://www.facebook.com/townelin
I remember my mint green caboodle very well. So excited to take that thing to school. lol!
Trapper Keeper!
In the early 80’s – my Garfield lunchbox and thermos. Felt so cool pouring my fruit punch into the cover mug and sipping through lunchtime.
I don’t remember having a favorite accessory. I loved them all! 🙂 I do think I would have loved USA chalkboard map that you shared above though!
Tweet https://twitter.com/rmgm/status/502791723370553345
FB https://www.facebook.com/mel.maringer/posts/691000980982743
I loved colored pens & smelly erasers. Favorite supplies that I got to choose myself.
My best-loved school lunchbox, from the 70’s, was a reticulated-image Bee Gees spectacular. One image was the whole band on stage with psychadelic colors, and turning it slightly revealed the close up images of the Boys and their glorious hair. It had a matching (but non-reticulated) thermos. How I wish I still had it!
Loved the new binders – new, clean, and full of promise…!
Also loved finding the perfect new lunchbox, graduating from “ballet” to “Star Wars” was an espeically important transition year.
Do clothes count? I loved updating my wardrobe and wearing all the new fall things even though the weather was still screaming for shorts and flip-flops.
Guess pencil case and Esprit bag
I loved buying stickers. They were great for collecting, trading and decorating notebooks!
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/MrsMChappell/status/502839140803936257
My favorite back to school accessory back in the day were my boots. To this day, when my mom (now a grandmother) wants to tell me to be careful, she’ll say “Wear your boots.”
Loved my Sanrio school supplies!
trapper keepers!
Trapper Keeper!
Hard to decide, but probably my pencil case!
I am going to be boring and go with my trapper keeper. I can hear the velcro now.
I’d have to go with Lisa Frank too! I still love rainbow-colored leopards and unicorns.
I loved getting new Peachee folders. My friends and I would break them in by doodling all over them. I wish I still had those!
My favorite back to school item was my new penny loafers I would get. I loved putting a pretty penny in them and thought I looked so cute with my uniform and loafers on!
Who could go BTS without a Trapper Keeper?? We also had to have those fuzzy topped pencils with the googley eyes that you could swish in your hands….and of course, the metal lunch kit with the totally rad matching thermos. One of my favs was Strawberry Shortcake…..I also loved Scooby Doo. And who could forget the BTS clothes?? Some of my favs were all things neon, the layered socks, boat shoes with the curly laces, keds with NO laces, coca-cola shirts, and parachute pants! Don’t forget your Wayfarers…..Ahhh, those were the days! 80s certainly still tops this cool mom’s picks!
My cactus eraser in a pencil sharpener pot. I loved that thing!
my pencil case and I am dating myself but I remember all the girls had My Melody and Hello Kitty charms
I loved my Trapper Keepers and HAD to have a new one every year!
Shared on FB: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.alvarado17/posts/757122154346922
Shared on twitter: https://twitter.com/Dolphin4176/status/503034073644683265
Trapper Keeper. Need I say more?
; >
I loved choosing a new lunch box along with new notebooks!
I loved going back to school shopping for new clothes! I guess my favorite school accessories were a trapper keeper, Lisa Frank folders and the troll pencil toppers!
Hello Kitty pencils and erasers were always on my back to school shopping list.
My favorite back-to-school supply was always a trapper keeper – so dated but so handy! I loved the ones with velcro when I was little!
I searched high and low each year for the coolest book cover papers. I LOVED covering my books!
Trapper Keeper! Always loved picking out my new design each year.
Those little tiny animal erasers . . . I bet I still have some somewhere!
I LOVED MY CHANDLER’S BOOK. Decorating with stickers, friend’s birthdays etc…
My Strawberry Shortcake lunch box.
Big fan of the Trapper Keeper, although was also pretty thrilled with smelly erasers. Anything smelly, really (well, in the artificially good way!).
I had to have Sharpies. Still love them today in all their pretty colors.
LOVED the pee chee folders when I was a kid – how to decorate all year long?!
I tweeted @mirabelle004
I loved the colored pencils. The plain yellow #2 always remind me of taking test! I also couldn’t wait to get a new lunch box. 🙂
We love getting fresh crayola crayons . awesome to have a new big box to open for school.
like the Trapper Keeper
FB https://www.facebook.com/miranda.labarge.3/posts/350542115113716
https://twitter.com/zealmag76/status/505548075113250817
I’m a sucker for the colored pencils
I loved my Trapper Keeper!
This shows my age…lol, but I loved getting a new Trapper Keeper every year. I loved those things!!! Thanks for the chance.
Tweeted at https://twitter.com/justicecw/status/505730227935252481
Markers. Sharpies, ideally, but those were hard to come by. Mmmm… markers.
My favorite thing was getting a new pencil box each year. You know, the printed cardboard ones that you put in your desk at school.
sented pencils
scented pencils
When we were a kid, my sister and I would go gaga for those pencils that have the leads that you can pull out and push back in the bottom. It was like you always had a sharp pencil and sometimes they were scented.
I loved my Trapper Keeper! I used to decorate it using pens, stickers and glue. Thanks for the chance to win.
My favorite were my scented pen collection , I loved it when my dad would get me a new one every week with different animals on them .
I loved my trapper keeper and my strawberry shortcake lunchbox!
tweeted https://twitter.com/cornellian2001/status/506414708610850816
I loved my Multi pen – 4 colors in one pen! Click! Click! Click! Click!
I loved my metal Superwoman lunchbox!
I tweeted!
https://twitter.com/Molomatic/status/506583633910837249
scented pencils
https://twitter.com/garyshorr/status/506638163625123841
My favorite childhood school supply was anything Lisa Frank. I had 2 siblings, and on a tight budget, my mom would rarely get any “special” school supplies. She would splurge on maybe ONE folder or a couple of pencils for me. I cherished them and felt so special. 🙂
I loved my trapper keeper with the picture of two cocker spaniels on it.
I loved my Charlie’s Angels metal lunchbox!
PeeChee(sp?) folders and my multiple writing supplies!
Loved the big clicker pen with multi ink color options.
My favorite BTS Accessory were those double sided japanese (now Hello Kitty) pencil case holders and smelly erasers!
As a kid, I LOVED shopping for all of my back-to-school desk items: pens, notebooks, always hoping I could get the BIG box of Crayola Crayons with the built-in sharpener,…
And I STILL love all of that stuff! 🙂
https://twitter.com/reginarivera/status/507259252461674496
https://www.facebook.com/regina.rivera/posts/10152312384525911
loved my trapper keeper and erasable pens…I can still smell their ink and I might still have it smudged all over my hand.
My favorite back to school accessory from when I was a kid were rainbow-colored personalized pencils.
I Like you on Facebook and Shared
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Twitter follower @hofken and tweeted
https://twitter.com/hofken/status/507598369166860288
When I was a kid I loved my animal shaped pencil erasers.
https://twitter.com/ardy22/status/507679106008629248
https://www.facebook.com/richard.hicks22/posts/651198788311506
loooved school supplies…still do.
when i was little there was a small stationary store that i loved go to and pick out special pencils, erasers, stickers, gel pens – all individual items, no big packages where everything was the same. so fun. wish it were still around!
I sure this is dumb but I alway liked the plastic pencil cases that had compartments that opened that is after my new lunch box.
like on facebook and shared https://www.facebook.com/diane.wortman/posts/760401433999105
Oh gosh. I know I’m late to the party, but I LOVED all school supplies and still do! I have a married man and a daughter in high school! I love clear-barrel bic pens. and the smell of black label elmer’s glue. 🙂
Loved my trapper keeper and brown paper bag book covers to write on !
Ordering the rainbow tape dispenser (out of stock right now :(), and ninja pencil. so cool
followed on Facebook -User-Bella D 🙂
Tweeted and following
https://twitter.com/nutella1
Pencils and pencil boxes!! Especially with built in pencil sharpeners.
I remember having a really cool binder when I was a kid, it held a metal ruler, a protractor, & a mechanical pencil, along with a pad of legal size paper & graph paper; an uncle gave it to me as a gift in 4th or 5th grade.
Shared on FB: https://www.facebook.com/bryan.eason.77/posts/10204062386867655
I had the neatest pencil box with a built in sharpener.
Thanks for the contest.
Twitter follow you: slehan
https://twitter.com/slehan/status/508121048974626816
FB like you: Slehan
https://www.facebook.com/hale.slehan/posts/875828209101494
I always liked stuff from the Sanrio, store like the Hello Kitty erasers and mini stapler.