Happy 98th Birthday, Mr. Dressup: The Realest Canada Funny Gifts

Today would've been Mr. Dressup's 98th birthday and honestly? I'm not okay.

By Danna Bananas
November 26, 2025 | 2 min read

 

Mr. Dressup-themed blue socks with red heels and toes, decorated with the Tickle Trunk, jester hat, flowers, bow tie, and drums...photographed on a bright green 

You know the flutter in your chest when that piano theme started.
The way he'd talk to Casey and Finnegan like they were real friends just hanging out in that treehouse.
The famously stubborn Tickle Trunk that always needed a second tug.

Ernie Coombs wasn't just putting on a show.
He was building the coziest corner of Canadian childhood.

Fun fact: he was born in Maine and didn't even become a Canadian citizen until 1994.
But somehow he's more Canadian than maple syrup and apologizing for no reason.

Okay, this is where I pitch you stuff, but hear me out.

We've got  Mr. Dressup socks and a mug in the store. Not because we made them ourselves (we didn't), but because when people search for Canada Funny Gifts or Toronto Funny Gifts, what they’re really looking for is something that punches them right in the nostalgia.

And these socks aren't covered in tiny Casey and Finnegan prints like I might've made up in my head.
You can see the actual designs for yourself right here. No embellishing.

The whole Gifts Canada market is packed with novelty socks and funny coffee mugs, but this is different.
This is the guy who made 4,000 episodes of kindness and crafts and beat Sesame Street in the ratings because he knew gentle isn't boring - it's powerful.

So happy birthday, Ernie Coombs.

Thanks for being the realest Canadian novelty gift of all.

P.S. Some facts via Craig Baird (he did the homework).