Get an introduction to Canada for kids with these printable dress-up dolls! Four Canadian costumes include Anne of Green Gables, a hockey player, an Inuk and a Mountie.

Since realizing that this year celebrates the 150th anniversary of Canada, I wanted to do something special. I thought about travelling, but for different practical reasons, this would not be a good year to go on a cross-continental trip. So I settled for a quieter way to celebrate and make some art project dedicated to Canada. In the end, I designed a set of paper dolls, dressed in Canadian costumes. It was interesting for me to create and fun for the kids to play with!

Also check all of our other paper dolls! Here are a few of my favourites:

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School Uniform Around the World Paper Dolls

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Benefits of Paper Dolls

If you played with dress-up paper dolls while growing up, you probably remember how much fun it was! From an adult’s perspective, I can also see how useful this activity is for a child’s development.

Here are a few important skills that making paper dolls and playing with them can encourage:

• fine motor skills and scissor cutting practice
• creativity and art skills
• storytelling skills
• social skills

Canadian Costumes

Now, what would a Canadian costume be?

Canada is a pretty young country, and even though a fair number of the population identify themselves simply as Canadians, most people I meet can at the same time offer an insight into their heritage and tell where their parents or grandparents came from. In other words, Canada doesn’t have a defined national costume the way a lot of European or Asian countries do. As a matter of fact, diversity is one of the most appealing features of the modern Canada, and this is one of the principles I focused on, choosing a few costumes from among the many possibilities to represent Canada in this paper doll set.

The four costumes are by no means completed representative of Canada, but can provide an introduction to a few cultural phenomena of the country.

First, Anne of Green Gables. A red-headed girl from the world-renown Canadian classics. Before I came to live in Canada, the story of Anne was almost all I knew about the country. Read the book with children or watch one of the movie adaptations together while playing with the doll.

Next, an RCMP officer. Even without a horse, the red uniform is recognizable!

Hockey is Canada’s official winter sport and a noticeable part of the culture. Personally, I know almost nothing about hockey, but I think I’m in minority in Canada. ;-)

Finally, a costume of an Inuk which is a member of one of Canada’s aboriginal groups native to the Arctic region. Both beautiful and practical, it was a delight to draw.

I chose these four because each of them seemed like an interesting starting point for a lesson on Canada. If you have some other ideas, feel free to leave a comment! I might add more costumes in the future.

A little personalization goes a long way, which is why the set includes two pages of costumes. One page has all the costumes, already coloured and ready to cut. The other page has outlines of the costumes that children can colour themselves. Hmmm… I wonder how the Mountie uniform will look in purple?…

Another feature that I added is a possibility to choose and customize the base doll. Again, there is an opportunity to colour your own before dressing it up! There is a girl and a boy, though keep in mind that only three out of four costumes are gender-neutral.

Watch the Video

Cutting paper dolls is simple, but you can take a look at the process in the video!

Download the Dolls

Also check…

Learn what children wear to school around the world with this set of paper dolls!

Instead of dresses, the emotion paper doll changes faces and exhibits a wide range of emotions!  In addition, templates for children to draw more faces are included in the pack, so the possibilities are endless.