Staples Back-to-School review and giveaway - ended

***And the winner is Leslie, who says she hasn't bought a single thing yet.***

I have mixed feelings about school starting back up. On one hand it will be nice for Noah to get back to a more structured environment, and not have to worry every day that I'm going to get a phone call about his behavior. On the other hand it means homework starts again, and that is a struggle I am not looking forward to. (I think we might be on a path to make that a bit easier, with glasses and some vision therapy, so if you read my main blog I'll update you all on the latest very soon.)

One thing I do love however, is shopping for school supplies. I love colored pens and pencils, fresh notebooks, and all the little do-dads that make organizing my office at work a little easier. I frequently use colored ink to help me organize data and notes for reports at work, and I get a little thrill every time I open a new set of pens! 

With school shopping for Noah I get to buy all the fun things I don't get to use at work (like crayons!). 

When MomSelect and Staples contacted me and offered me a chance to participate in a back-to-school review and giveaway, I of course said yes!

For many Moms, back-to-school  season can be chaotic as we scramble to run errands and pick up supplies. Our friends at Staples want to make sure we spend our time soaking up the end of summer with our families, not combing store aisles for the lowest prices and hard-to-find items. That's why they're committed to making back to school shopping easy, by providing the best deals on everything your family needs for a successful school year. And because they know that Moms love to be prepared, they're offering you and me a chance to experience their fantastic back to school offerings! 

 

They sent me a back-to-school goodie bag full of cool stuff including DoSomething.org-inspired note books and a date book. These feature cool designs and help students stay organized while learning about important issues impacting their communities.

 
The gift pack also included a Glam Rock stapler, pen and calculator. Noah of course was all over these glittery objects! We were sent the clear crystal set, which is very sparkly! (I think I have Noah convinced that keeping these at home is a good idea. His class is all boys and I think some of them may think they are a little girly. I hate to set him up to get teased. What do you guys think? Am I teaching him gender stereotypes or just protecting him?)

 

We also received an Omnitech 2GB Swivel Flash Drive ($12.99), which is designed to keep the cap in place and are available in some cool designs including black and white, multi-colored dots, and peace-sign patterns.We received the peace sign pattern, and I'm going to use it to transport reports back and forth from work, when I need to work from home.

 
And how cute is this? The Zip-it pencil case. It's a pencil case made out of a really long zipper. Just pull it and watch it zip into shape! It is the brainchild of an Israeli student whose class project called for turning an everyday item into something new. The Zip It-Unzip Your Mind pencil pouch ($5.99) is available in black, purple and pink with exclusive rainbow-zipper design for Staples. Ours came in my favorite color - purple.

And finally, we received the Omnitech Portable Speaker ($9.99), which is a mini pod that plays music from any device equipped with a 3.5mm headphone jack; including MP3 players, notebooks, mobile phones, and gaming devices. This might just inspire me to actually put music on my iPod. I know, I'm pathetic and way behind the times.

I'll be finishing up our school shopping this week at Staples, and I'll probably buy myself some new colored pens for work. I deserve it, right?

 
Now, I promised you a giveaway, and here you go. Staples and MomSelect have provided me with a $25 Staples gift card to give to one of my readers to help make your school supply shopping a little easier.

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what you still need for your back to school list.  One comment per person please! You have until  Friday, August  20, 2010 at midnight (EDT) to enter.

Discloser; MomSelect and Staples provided me with a gift bag including the items I have shown above. All opinions are my own.