Staples is running one of its best art-supply freebies of the year right now: Easy Rewards members get 100% back in points on all Crayola products, up to $50 per account, through December 20, 2026. Joining is free, and the offer covers essentially every Crayola item Staples sells, from $9 watercolor packs to $44 art sets.
To be clear up front: this is free after rewards, not free at checkout. You pay for the Crayola products today, and Staples returns the full amount in points you can spend on a future Staples purchase. If you shop at Staples anyway — school supplies, ink, office gear — the points are as good as cash, which is why we rate this one of the strongest store freebies of the season.
We verified the mechanics against Staples' official Easy Rewards overview page and cross-checked the offer terms across multiple deal trackers, which all quote identical terms. The short version: 100% back in points, $50 cap, activate in the dashboard before checkout, excludes Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats orders.
Below we break down the exact claim steps, a product-price table so you can plan your $50, and the 2026 history showing this is Staples' third 100%-back promo of the year.
Quick Summary: Free Crayola at Staples at a Glance
What | 100% back in points on Crayola |
|---|---|
Who | Staples Easy Rewards members (free to join) |
Where | US stores and staples.com |
When | Thru Dec 20, 2026 |
Cap | $50 in points per account |
Catch | Activate first, points post later |
What Is the Deal, Exactly? Staples Crayola 100% Back
The offer is a loyalty promotion on Staples' Easy Rewards program, which is free to join and requires no credit card. Through December 20, 2026, members who activate the Crayola offer in their Easy Rewards dashboard earn 100% of the purchase price back in points, capped at $50 in points per account. Points are earned on what you pay after discounts, with tax and shipping excluded.
The official mechanics live on Staples' Easy Rewards overview page, which stresses the single most important rule: offers must be activated before checkout. "If you forget to activate an Easy Rewards offer, you will not be able to earn the associated points on your qualifying transaction," the page states. That one sentence is the difference between $50 back and $0 back.
This is the third 100%-back promotion Staples has run in 2026, and the biggest. January's Paper Mate offer capped at $40, and a spring Crayola promo (March 29 to April 4) also ran 100% back. The current Crayola event raises the cap to $50 and stretches nearly ten weeks through the holiday shopping season, which makes it far easier to plan around than the earlier one-week sprints.
What's Free: Crayola Products Worth Up to $50
Every Crayola product qualifies — the offer applies to all Crayola items carried by Staples US stores and staples.com. That breadth is unusual; most rewards promos limit you to a few SKUs. Here is a sample of current Staples pricing to help you plan a $50 basket:
Product | Price | Fits in $50 |
|---|---|---|
Washable Watercolors 10-pack | $8.99 | Yes |
Construction Paper 240 ct | $9.49 | Yes |
Model Magic Variety Pack | $18.99 | Yes |
Create N' Carry Case 75 ct | $25.99 | Yes |
Alcohol Markers 20-pack | $34.49 | Yes |
Pokémon Art Set 115 ct | $44.29 | Yes |
Two items plus a filler gets most shoppers to the cap: for example, the $44.29 Pokémon Art Set and the $8.99 watercolors together total $53.28, slightly over the $50 ceiling, so the points would land at $50.00. A tighter combo — the $34.49 alcohol markers and the $18.99 Model Magic pack — totals $53.48 in spend but again maxes the cap. The point: plan your basket at $50-55 in retail price to extract full value.
The $50 cap is per Easy Rewards account, so a two-parent household with two accounts can theoretically pull down $100 in points. Just remember each account must activate its own offer and present its own membership number at checkout.
How to Claim the Free Crayola Offer Step by Step
The claim flow is simple but order-sensitive. Activate first, buy second — not the other way around:
Join Easy Rewards free. Sign up at staples.com/easy or in the Staples app; no credit card is needed.
Activate the Crayola offer. Log in to your Easy Rewards dashboard on staples.com or the app, find the Crayola 100% Back offer tile, and activate it.
Shop Crayola. Buy any Crayola products in a US Staples store or on staples.com, up to $50 in points-eligible spend.
Provide your membership number at checkout. In-store, this is how the system tracks your purchase to your account; online, make sure you are signed in.
Wait for points to post. Points arrive in your Easy Rewards balance after the transaction processes, then redeem them like cash on a future Staples purchase.
Step 2 is where people fail. Per the official Easy Rewards FAQ, unactivated offers earn nothing, and the dashboard is the only place offers appear. Check it the same day you shop, not a week later.
Points are calculated on what you actually pay after discounts — so stacking a sale price or a coupon reduces the points earned, but it also reduces your out-of-pocket. The optimal play is buying Crayola that is already on sale, since you recover most of a smaller number rather than all of a bigger one.
Who Is Eligible for the Free Crayola Deal?
Any US resident with a free Staples Easy Rewards account is eligible. There is no purchase history requirement, no invitation, and no paid tier needed — Easy Rewards is Staples' base loyalty program. Members of all ages can join, though you need an email address and, for in-store tracking, your membership number handy at the register.
The exclusions are narrow but real, per the consistent offer terms reported across trackers:
No Instacart, DoorDash, or Uber Eats orders — buy directly from Staples
Points cap at $50 per account for the full promotion window
Tax and shipping don't count toward your points base
Sale prices reduce your points base since points track post-discount spend
One geography note: the offer runs at US Staples stores and staples.com only. Staples Canada operates a different rewards program, so cross-border shoppers should not expect the Crayola offer to appear in a Canadian dashboard.
Important Fine Print to Know
The offer runs through December 20, 2026, per multiple consistent tracker reports. That gives you roughly nine weeks, but there is no guarantee Crayola stock — especially popular kits like the Pokémon Art Set — lasts that long at every store. Art-supply aisles get picked over in December as families assemble holiday craft baskets.
Details that trip people up:
Activation is mandatory and per-account. The official FAQ is explicit that forgetting activation forfeits the points.
Points, not instant credit. Your card statement shows the full purchase price; the money comes back as Staples points to spend at Staples.
Returns may claw back points. Standard rewards-program practice applies — if you return the Crayola items, expect the associated points to be reversed.
Third-party marketplaces are excluded. Staples' own third-party terms page covers marketplace exclusions, and trackers consistently report Instacart/DoorDash/Uber Eats purchases as ineligible.
The end date is a hard stop. Buy before December 20; there is no grace period for unshipped carts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Crayola offer at Staples really free?
It is free after rewards points, not free at the register. You pay for your Crayola products up front, then receive 100% of the post-discount price back as Easy Rewards points, up to $50 per account. Those points spend like cash on future Staples purchases — school supplies, ink, even more toys.
If you never shop at Staples again, treat this as a gift-card refund rather than instant freebies. Every mention of this offer should carry that framing: it is a rebate-style deal with an extra step.
How do I activate the Staples Crayola 100% back offer?
Log in to your Easy Rewards account on staples.com or in the Staples app, open your offers dashboard, and click activate on the Crayola offer before you shop. Staples' official Easy Rewards overview warns that unactivated offers earn zero points — there is no retroactive fix.
Also give your membership number at in-store checkout so the purchase links to your account. The full program terms are on staples.com/easy.
Who is eligible for the free Crayola deal at Staples?
Anyone who is a US-resident Staples Easy Rewards member, which is free to join with no credit card required. The offer covers US stores and staples.com but excludes Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats orders. Points are capped at $50 per account through the December 20, 2026 end date, and tax and shipping do not count toward the points calculation. Households can multiply the cap by creating separate accounts, but each account must activate and check out on its own number.
What Crayola products qualify for 100% back?
All Crayola products sold by Staples qualify — the offer applies to the full Crayola lineup, not a select list. Trackers currently show the $8.99 Washable Watercolors 10-pack, $9.49 Construction Paper 240-count, $18.99 Model Magic Variety Pack, $25.99 Create N' Carry Case, $34.49 Alcohol Markers 20-pack, and $44.29 Pokémon Art Set among eligible items.
Any combination up to the $50 points cap earns the full amount back. Check your dashboard's offer tile for any fine-print exclusions before checkout, since Staples can attach SKU restrictions at its discretion.
Can I stack coupons with the Crayola rewards offer?
Yes — and it changes the math. Points are earned on what you pay after discounts, so a $20 Crayola set bought at 25% off earns points on $15, not $20. Your total out-of-pocket drops too, which is usually what you want.
The optimal strategy is buying already-discounted Crayola and treating the 100%-back as a bonus on top, because you recover most of a smaller number while paying less cash up front. Tax and shipping are always excluded from the points base.
When does the Staples Crayola offer end?
The offer runs through December 20, 2026, per consistent reporting from multiple deal trackers, and there is no indication of an extension. Buy and activate before that date — points for qualifying purchases post to your account after the transaction processes.
If you are buying for holiday crafts, early December is the practical deadline: Crayola stock thins out as Christmas approaches, and the $44.29 Pokémon Art Set is the kind of item that sells through first.
Similar Deals Worth Checking Out
If store-rewards math is your thing, we have been tracking the retail freebie season closely. Our CVS $32 experiment article shows how far $32 goes when ExtraCare deals stack to $129 worth of products — same rebate-brain, different store.
Lowe's MyLowe's Money Days ran free money and member gifts October 10-11; the Lowe's Money Days guide breaks down how its $5-increment member gifts worked.
For in-store event freebies, Target's ACOTAR midnight release on October 26 includes a free Bryaxis keychain for the first 100 guests — see the Target keychain event article for the pre-order trap.
And if you are buying art supplies for kids anyway, the free kids' build circuit keeps rolling into winter: Lowe's free Holiday Engine workshop on November 14 and the Barnes & Noble free LEGO snowman build in November both cost nothing but a Saturday morning.
About Crayola and Staples
Crayola, founded in 1903 and headquartered in Easton, Pennsylvania, is America's most recognizable art-supply brand, producing roughly three billion crayons a year. Its catalog now spans markers, Model Magic compound, painting sets, and licensed kits like the Pokémon Art Set.
The brand runs its own craft library on crayola.com, and its company history is documented on the Crayola about page.
Staples operates roughly 1,000 US stores and is the largest US office-products retailer. Its Easy Rewards program, detailed on staples.com/easy, is free to join and pays members points on purchases, ink recycling, and promotional offers like this Crayola event. For the official program mechanics, see the Easy Rewards overview page.
Sources & References
Staples Easy Rewards overview — activation requirement, points mechanics, official FAQ
Staples Easy Rewards sign-up — free membership enrollment
Staples official site — product pricing and availability
Crayola official site — product catalog
Crayola About Us — brand history and company facts
Crayola crafts library — free craft projects for the supplies you earn
