Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is expected to draw in millions of viewers, but for this three-hour show, it takes more than a year of planning.
"We'll have 350 kids on the floats, 1,100 balloon handlers, 1,000 clowns, 11 marching bands, 27 floats and 17 balloons," says Amy Kule, Vice President, Macy's Parade and Entertainment Group. "We have about 6,000 to 8,000 people on the street bringing the parade to life."
When the annual tradition started in 1924, it was fraction of the size it is today. Between 1928 and 1931, Macy’s would release the balloons at the end of the parade, and those lucky enough to find a piece of a balloon could return it to Macy's for a $50 gift certificate.
Far from doing anything like that today, Macy’s has tried to recycle some of the helium from its balloons, as they are reportedly the second largest consumer of helium in the nation.
While the floats and balloons may be larger than life, each one is carefully hand-painted. "All of this is done by my staff of 26 full-time people," says John Piper, Vice President of Macy's Parade Studio.
The floats are about 2.5 to 3 stories high and take up about 3 lanes of traffic, and each one is collapsible small segments. "Each one of the floats in the parade needs to fold up into a box, because we take them from the Macy's Parade Studio [in New Jersey] and bring them into New York through the Lincoln Tunnel," says Kule.
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Once the journey is complete, the items are reassembled and set for the next day.
As soon as the event is over, employees will get back to work on parades spanning the next decade. "We're looking ahead to 2026. So we're working today, but we're looking ahead to tomorrow," says Kule.
Macy’s won’t reveal how much they spend on the parade each year, pointing out that you wouldn't leave a price tag on a gift.
