Are you and your kids cramming your back-to-school shopping? Well, before you buy the standard pens and pencils and plain-covered notebooks in bulk just because it's convenient, you might want to consider going for at least a few more colorful and creative items instead. These might make your kids just a little bit more excited about the school year ahead as well as help you determine which supplies belong to which kids.

Check out our gallery below for a few cute, cool, and/or colorful school supplies to choose from. Who knows? You may like them so much, you'll get some of them for your office.

(Photos of items from National Book Store by Mike Dee. Photos of items from Rustan's courtesy of Giotto.)