The iconic Thanksgiving Day Parade started in 1924 with Macy’s employees and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo. Employees and professional entertainers dressed in vibrant costumes marched from 145th Street in Harlem to Macy’s flagship store on 34th Street. In the early years, it was tradition to let the enormous, heavy balloons float away after the parade was done and the handlers would then race around to see who could catch them. Over time they stopped this as well as including the zoo animals. They wanted to be more inclusive so that everyone could feel at home while watching the parade pass. More than 3.5 million people attend the parade every year and millions more watch it on TV too. The 100th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade will be in 2026 because there were two years during WWII when the parade did not take place.

The annual tradition of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade was given to us because Macy’s wanted to boost holiday sales and highlight Macy’s new store. It starts at 8:30 am, but if you want to get front-row seats you have to get there bright and early by 6:00 am. The parade starts on 6th Ave and goes on for 25 blocks ending at 34th Street, right in front of Macy’s Herald Square. The employees wanted to add a little spice by including a special part of New York, the Central Park Zoo animals.

The Macy’s coordinators stopped adding the zoo animals because some kids were scared of all the roars, growls, and loud noises. So, in response to this, they started adding more kid-friendly floats like Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Baby Shark, Blues Clues, Kermit, Charlie Brown, Mickey Mouse, etc. Millions of people attend this parade every year because it has become a beautiful tradition. It is a nice place to take your kids, nieces, nephews, or grandchildren out to spend time with family and remember that day as the best day ever. They get to see floats of characters that they like and they get to see it being next to people they love. They get to bask in the moment and cherish it. In the future, they can take their own kids and start a tradition by passing it forward.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade is a great way to get together with family and have the time of your life. Depending on how early you get there will determine how well you get to see the floats and cherish the moment. Come by and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade you’ll love it!