Dress up these free printable paper dolls as pirates and throw a pirate party for kids!
It’s really a bit of a mystery how pirates, as rugged and violent bunch as they are, gained so much popularity! My guess is, they offer an escape to all the people who dream of sails and sea adventures, but cannot really abide by the strict rules and hierarchy of the navy.
That certainly is true for our family. We’re unreasonably fond of pirate stories, and little can be done about that. Especially, if you consider that our family was practically born from a pirate story. At the very beginning of our relationship stands an episode where my husband-to-be and I made a pirate story together. Later, that gave a certain nautical twist to our first Christmas tree and then to our wedding cake. So, we do like pirates – while openly acknowledging that the pirates we like have nothing to do with the real historical criminals.
Celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept 19) is definitely up our alley, though, and this year we decided to give our paper dolls a chance to do the same. We invite you to join us by printing a free printable template with pirate costumes and making pirate paper dolls.
You can also take a look at all of our paper dolls here or check out a few of our favourites:
Amazing Women in History Paper Dolls
School Uniform Around the World Paper Dolls
Christmas Around the World Paper Dolls
Pirate Dress Up Dolls Feature
- eight dolls (four coloured dolls and four colour-your-own-dolls)
- two full costumes with two hats, two tops and two bottoms (both are available in a coloured and a colour-your-own versions)
The girls are luckier in this set. Both outfits will fit them, while the boys will have to do with just one.
Why Play with Dress-Up 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, we can also see how useful this activity can be for a child’s development. Here are a few important skills that making paper dolls and playing with them can encourage:
- Fine motor skills. Think scissor cutting practice! Operating all the tabs is a useful challenge, as well. Truth be told, tabs may turn out too challenging for very young children. If so, you can make magnetic dolls instead.
- Creativity and art skills. Because who wouldn’t want to make some additional costumes for the dolls? All the dolls and the costumes also have a colour-your-own version, so there is a lot to do for children who like to colour, as well.
- Storytelling skills. The dolls act as great storytelling prompts!
They are also really easy and cheap to make. It’s just paper, after all. By printing the designs, you can make as many copies as you want, so it isn’t a big deal if a doll gets torn.
How to Make Dress-Up Dolls
Cut the dolls from the pages with the base dolls. Cut the clothes out, using scissors or a hobby knife.
You can make a classic paper doll with the paper layers that attach with folding tabs, or you can make a magnetic doll to go on a fridge or magnetic board. In order to make the doll magnetic, you can either print it on special magnetic sheets OR print it on standard paper and adhere little strips of magnet tape to the back. For extra long life, laminate the clothes and the dolls before gluing magnets to them.
And now, it’s time to play.
Ahoy, mateys!
Also Try
School Uniforms Around the World Paper Dolls
Thanks for reading!
