Very few holiday traditions are as grand as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Watched by over 22 million viewers last year alone, many families consider the parade a key part of their Thanksgiving festivities and the arrival of Santa to be one of the first moments of Christmas. In fact, the parade started in 1924 as a much smaller Christmas parade organized by store employees featuring animals from the Central Park Zoo. Large scale balloons replaced animals in 1926 and paved the way for the parade we all know and love.
While the parade may look different this year, we have so many fond memories of the balloons, floats, and performances and look forward to it returning to its full glory again. Kick off your celebration with a few of our fun facts about one of the best Thanksgiving traditions, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Finders fee
Until 1933, Macy’s intentionally released balloons after the parade and allowed them to float, sometimes for days, before landing. The balloons had return labels and rewards were given upon their return.
War Efforts
The parade was not held from 1942-1944 due to helium and rubber shortages caused by WWII. Macy’s donated existing balloons, totaling 650 pounds of spare rubber, to the US military.
Flying High
Today, Macy’s is the second largest consumer of helium in the world using over 300,000 cubic feet per year. That’s three and a half Olympic sized swimming pools worth of helium totaling more than $500,000.
The Peanuts
Snoopy has been on display as a star balloon since 1968 and the parade has featured seven versions of the character including Flying Ace Snoopy in his pilot’s hat and Moon Landing Snoopy. This makes Snoopy the character with the most versions in the parade’s history.
Picture Perfect
In order to avoid cracks, new balloons are painted only after they are inflated. The balloons then undergo indoor and outdoor flight tests as well as leak testing. This lengthy process costs at least $190,000 for new balloons and $90,000 annually for the maintenance of existing balloons.