I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine Thanksgiving morning without the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, with all it’s giant balloons, which got me thinking, how did it all get started?  Here’s what I found on history.com (the website for the History Channel).

“Originally known as Macy’s Christmas Parade—to signify the launch of the Christmas shopping season—the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade took place in New York City in 1924. It was launched by Macy’s employees and featured animals from the Central Park Zoo. Today, some 3 million people attend the annual parade and another 44 million watch it on television.

Tony Sarg, a children’s book illustrator and puppeteer, designed the first giant hot air balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1927. He later created the elaborate mechanically animated window displays that grace the façade of the New York store from Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Snoopy has appeared as a giant balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade more times than any other character in history. As the Flying Ace, Snoopy made his sixth appearance in the 2006 parade.”

What’s your favorite parade balloon?  I’m kind of partial to the Buzz Lightyear myself, but am looking forward to one of this year’s new introductions – Tim Burton’s “B” boy balloon…not exactly traditional Thanksgiving imagery!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!