What, no moose or beaver? Shocking! I love my old HBC blankets, over 50 years old and still warm and cosy. I'd love them over moose and tree printed flanelette sheets. Some day.

Tacky. If I were to embrace Canadiana as a decorating scheme I'd be more likely to lean towards Group of Seven prints, Inuit soapstone carvings (like the one former Prime Minister Jean Chretien used to attack a homeless man who had mistakenly entered his official residence!), and .

...that was supposed to say <ahref="http://www.enjoyart.com/canada.htm"> retro Canadian Pacific hotel and travel posters.

I give up.

What a bunch of kitschy crap! No offense to the author... but it looks like you've spent more time in the airport gift shop than in Canadian flea markets.

Port Carling is in Ontario. The RCMP (AKA Mounties) have never served in Ontario (that would be the OPP). Is a Mountie statue Canadiana? Sure, but it seems weird that you're finding it in Ontatio. 3 of 13 provinces/terriroties (representing 65% of our population) do not have (and have never had) the RCMP. It's an image that represents some of Canada, not all... not even most. I can almost guarantee that that statue was made specifically for tourists, or americans with cottages around Port Carling (which is absolutely beautiful!)

The HBC blanket is nice, and is actually an authentic piece of Canadiana.

Sorry, but most of this stuff would be the equivalent of me telling you that good gifts for people who love the USA would be:
bald eagle statues,
salt water taffy, and...
Declaration of Independance napkins...

The image of the totem poles appropriated into cups is offensive to our first nations people. Source something designed and made by our first nations people instead and you'll have an authentic item whose design wasn't stolen from a disadvantaged population.

And a word of advice for anyone who wants good maple syrup from Canada - the stuff in the can is the worst - get it in a bottle, and it should have a sticker with the farmer's name and address on it - no guarantees, but that is a good sign that it comes from a small farm producer and not a mega-corporation from quebec.

WOW--
Everyone is entitled to their opinions and yes some of those items are more kitchy, but rather than complain, why not make your own suggestion-- (as some have)!

I have never commented but felt the need after the unnecessary ramblings about what is appropiate and inappropiate. It's DESIGN- it should be fun and personal :)

I'm with the other commenters that this is airport-souvenir-shop kitsch, with the exception of the HBC blanket. It definitely would have been nice to see some actual Haida, Tlingit, Inuit or other indigenous people's artwork. Other things I'd have included would be some antique wooden furniture from Ontario or Quebec and some glass fishing floats.

I don't really appreciate anyone taking stereotypes of Canadians and producing a bunch of garbage that doesn't really represent us, then to have it spun on sites like these as "Great Gift Ideas for the Canada Lover!"

My suggestions:
- I provided a tip as to how to find good maple syrup - made by farmers rather than large corporations.
- If you're into First Nations design/culture/history then seek out something that is literally designed and produced by someone who is First Nations. These cups are designed by a Canadian Artist who may or may not be First Nations (Rob Southcott). These types of objects are problematic when they take aboriginal designs and sell them without consultation or a return of any profits to the aboriginal population. There are currently lawsuits going on where Urban Outfitters has been selling "Navajo" designs without the permission of the Nation.
- I agree that the HBC Blanket is a great gift idea. That object has Canadian history behind it.

My complaints come from the author's lack of any research and how they have decided to perpetuate stereotyopes of Canadians. Most of the suggested gifts would make anyone who knows a thing or two about Canada laugh. How about some amazing wine from the Okanagan Valley or Niagara? A nice canadian made scarf displaying the tartan of one of the Canadian provinces Here http://redcanoebrands.com/index.php/all-products/scarves.html#.

I guess you should just put some thought into the gift, rather than relying on ricidulous tourist centric images of a country that is so much more amazing than Mounties and Maple Syrup.

OK, I hope I don't get blasted for this because my in-laws are all Canadian, but I like to threaten my husband that I'm going to suggest playing "Dead or Canadian" at his parents' house over the holidays.
....gee, I don't get it--- he usually has such a good sense of humor.

I'm with username26! With the exception of the HBC blanket, these are all cliched anglo-Canadian stereotypes. And truthfully... an argument could be made against the HBC blanket.

username26, as a former civilian contractor with the RCMP (at HQ in Ottawa), all i can say is that you don't understand their role in our country. yes, you are correct, they don't act as local/provincial police in Ontario or many other provinces, but they have more than a ceremonial role in those places.

and there is a small maple syrup producer in the south end of London, where i now live, that actually sells their product in cans (as well as bottles) at their farm.

as for the cliched moose and beaver stuff, i must admit that the first gift i gave to my American boyfriend was a bottle of Konzelmann Estates Canada Red wine - with a moose on the label.

Moose or no, Konzelmann Estates is the farthest thing from kitsch. Good job, rouquinne!

Seriously? Aside from the candles and HBC blanket, that other stuff is super lame (I say that as a Canadian).

Yes! LAME.

This must be just a goofy, tongue-in-cheek post. (?) It looks like an April Fool's Day gag.

I'm hoping "shelbo" is right. I hope this is just a joke. I'm Canadian and I love your website, but come on. I don't decorate my home with Mounties or beavers or HBC blankets, nor do any of my friends or family. I usually have a fabulous sense of humour, but this post doesn't make me laugh.

If you want to do a post about Canadian décor (which, frankly, is pretty similar to American décor), why not create a blog post about some of our talented interior designers, like Sarah Richardson or Tommy Smythe? Or write a post about the "House and Home" or "Style at Home" magazines which originated in Canada and have branched into the U.S. Not bad for Canadian publications. Why not profile Mike Holmes (a Canadian), who is now branching his high profile home renovation company into the U.S. and has been building homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina alongside Brad Pitt? Or your company could commission some guest bloggers/writers to search out amazing homes across Canada? It could be a special house tour feature, since your coverage of our country is so infrequent. Some of my friends' homes are stunning, and we live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, of all places. (Certainly not New York City).

Just a suggestion, but I thought your staff should know that the possibilities here are endless. Far beyond igloos and the Hudson's Bay Company.

What no framed photo of Anne Murray or Michael J. Fox as decor? For shame AT.

I also think this must be just a goofy
what other explanation would there be for it?

Wow. This "Canadian decor" is terrible ... and stereotypical "Canadian" by an American.

Sorry American author, this stuff is NOT Canadian decor for the Canada lover. The totem pole stacking mugs are especially insulting.

If you want real "Canadian decor", find a First Nations artist and buy his/her art directly. If you want to write a post about Canadian decor, find some Canadian designers and write about them or go to some Canadian homes and take pictures!

"Inuit soapstone carvings (like the one former Prime Minister Jean Chretien used to attack a homeless man who had mistakenly entered his official residence!)"

No.

From the (Canadian Encyclopedia) :
"At 2:10 a.m. on Nov. 5, Dallaire arrived at the fence surrounding 24 Sussex Drive - and spent 20 minutes throwing stones onto the grounds and waving at security cameras that, ostensibly, were being monitored by Jean Chrétien's RCMP security staff. He then climbed the fence and proceeded to the Chrétiens' residence, where he smashed a window and entered the house. Dallaire wandered around in the basement and on the ground floor for another half-hour before going upstairs. Outside the Chrétiens' bedroom, he was confronted by the Prime Minister's wife, Aline, who quickly retreated into the bedroom, locked the door and telephoned for help - while Chrétien himself brandished an Inuit stone sculpture in case Dallaire broke through the door. Dallaire, later described by Aline Chrétien as resembling the Tom Hanks character in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump, put down his knife and waited for the RCMP to arrive - which they did, fully seven minutes later."

He also had a knife with a three-inch blade. Hardly "mistakenly entered".

Also, most of these gifts are crap. Where's the "a href="http://www.quwutsun.ca/cowichan_sweaters.htm">cowichan sweater?

Grr.

Cowichan sweater

LOL I knew the author was in trouble as soon as I read the post.

Aww come on people. This was meant to be an overview of "fun items" (in the author's own words), kitschy flea market types of things. Everyone gets so hung up on this stuff and jumps in without absorbing and understanding where the authors are coming from.

As a Texan living in Chicago, I will personally testify to the fact that if you get upset over people generalizing your home region with stereotypes, you better just GET OVER IT. At some point when you're so far from home, those kitschy little things may become endearing.

-Alana
http://www.kitschykitten.com

@kitschykitten, it might be fun to stereotype someone else, but its frustrating to hear americans telling Canadians to "just get over it". You can't just take stereotypes, package them up and tell the internet that this is "Canadian" and when we object, to tell us to be quiet and get over it. How about... everyone be civil and coureteous to each other and their culture and when someone mis steps and it's pointed out, just apologize and learn from the situation.

If I were to publish a blog post about things to give a Texas lover, I could probably expect to get backlash from some if the only items on my list were lassoos, gun napkins and cowboy hats, while ignorning the rest of the diverse culture that calls Texas home.

@rouquinne
To qualify the maple syrup comment - your local producer probably sells metal bottles of their syrup. The cans I'm talking about look like a can of beans (such as the cans in the picture). I suppose a small producer could put their syrup in cans, but that requires a huge processing facility which small farmers usually don't have access to.

As far as the RCMP thing goes.. I'm sorry, I don't identify with that as an image that represents the Canadian population, and neither do many many Canadians (perhaps some of the ~22 million of us living in Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland). The serving oficers don't even dress in the stereotypical red uniform, except for the ceremonial duties which have been evolving since the force's creation waaay back in 1920. Do I think it's cute? Sure! But I think it would be a terribly tacky, uninformed gift to give to someone who "loves Canada".

A little light hearted youtubing material for anyone interested: Rick Mercer's Talking to Americans.

Username26, whatEVER is your problem with syrup made in Quebec? The kind of maple syrup you idealize exists just as well in Quebec and the crappy mega corporation one exists outside of Quebec as well. Sounds to me like you are saying that bad syrup comes from Quebec and good syrup from the rest of Canada.

I personally know people in Quebec who make maple syrup. Theirs is so good, I really hope you never get a taste.

This is a US deco and cooking site, not a politics forum. Your allergy to Quebec doesn't belong here.

I looked around the house to see what I have in it that is typically Canadian. Here is what I found:

Flannel bed linen
Mooseskin mocassins
Glazed earthenware gallon maple syrup bottles
Native-made traditional snowshoes
Art made with real maple leaves
Wooden chairs with sealskin caning

It's about what I found without going on a detailed search. I also have a beaver emblem carved out of stone embedded in the facade of my house, which was built in the early forties, which I am really proud of because I have never seen anything like it on a residential building.

Canadiana isn't very different from Americana. The differences are subtle. We also have patchworks much like people south of the border: apart from choice of colors and patterns, they are hard to tell apart.

I guess my conclusion is that Canadiana doesn't scream Canadiana. I would never put a statue of a Mounty anywhere near my house, but I would hang a Mounty hat on a peg. Canadians are easier to tell from Americans by their dress than by their deco.

I, too, am of the opinion that it would have been smarter to feature Canadian designers or, better yet, describe historic Canadian buildings that still have most of their original deco from 50 or 100 years ago.

And no, I will not get over it as suggested by kitchykitten and nobody should. I don't think kitchykitten would appreciate someone saying that if you want a typically American house, you should start by hanging a rifle in it...

Ah! No problems with Quebec! I made a mention of the fact that most of the world's maple syrup comes from Quebec, and yes, through mega corporations... I didn't mean to insinuate that all maple syrup from Quebec is therefore from a mega-corp, just that the stuff in the campbell's-esque soup can is probably from a mega-corp, from Quebec. Sorry for the confusion. My mistake, although you did take liberties with my words.

I think it's healthy to address stereotypes when a 'deco and cooking site' is perpetuating them. The discussion has elicited many suggestions of Canadiana as decor recommended by Canadians, so regardless of the political tone of my comments, I think it's constructive. You shouldn't engage if you don't want to.

I regularly go to Quebec without ANY allergic reaction :)

seriously???

2, count them TWO mounties.

a horrible looking CAN of syrup

terribly cheap looking native art. you can barely make out what they are.

and the saddest picture of a Bay blanket.

please stop speaking on behalf of Canadians if you are from below our border.

this is insulting.

Oh America! Gift Guide for the America Lover:

1. American flag pants
2. A statue of Ronald Reagan
3. "Vintage" Budweiser cans

Get it?

Personally, I get a kick out of stereotypes that other people have of Americans (Texans especially) when I travel.

I kinda figure you have to have a sense of humor about your homeland if you have the character to make it through those winters.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the scenes in Peewee's Big Adventure that stereotype Texas. I still tell people, "There's no basement in the Alamo!" with as thick an accent as I can muster.

C'mon folks. Don't be negative. Enjoy the spirit of the post, but then enlighten us in a nice way about all the other wonderful things that are there to discover. Personally, I love going to Lake Superior Provincial Park with my kids. It's gorgeous and most people in Chicago have no idea that a place that beautiful is only a day's drive away.

-Alana
http://www.kitschykitten.com