Macy's Parade Overview
The Macy’s Parade down 6th avenue of New York City has become the symbolic entrance for Thanksgiving Day. Over 50 million people see the parade from the comfort of their homes. A brave three million, however, stomach the cold and gather in New York City to see the spectacle first hand. Want to do it? Here is what to expect.
The Day Before:
Have everything ready. The last thing you want to do is scramble the morning of for things. Here is a list of key items to gather:
- Warm clothes: Gloves, scarfs, hats and a warm jacket are all musts.
- Buy Snacks: You will be waiting for 4-6 hours. It is always good to have some food.
- Decide if you need entertainment: It never hurts to have a light book, or some iPhone games to get you through the early morning. If you think you will need it, pack it.
- Hand Warmers: These things are life saviors! You can get a cheap pack from Walmart
- Water: I know it is silly to do this the day before, but it is the easiest thing to forget. Fill it up and keep it by your bag.
- Portable Charger: Nothing is worse than your phone dying on you halfway through the experience. Charge up your portable charger the night before.
- Headphones: Make sure your headphones are charged if they are bluetooth headphones.
- Camera: If your iPhone camera doesn’t cut it, make sure to charge your camera as well.
- Foldable Chairs: If you don’t want to stand while waiting for the parade, bring chairs that can easily fold up. Once the parade starts you will have to stand up to get a good view. You can fold up the chair and place it by your feet or on the curb in front of you.
Bags are permitted at the parade so bring whatever is needed in a string bag.
5:30 AM
It’s Thanksgiving! It’s time to wake up bright and early! Get showered and layered up in some warm clothes. You will be standing for a while.
Your starting time can vary depending on three factors.
1. What street you want to stand on. I stood on 46th and 6th. If you want to stand closer to the starting point at Central Park (77th street) you will have to wake up earlier. The street you choose does not make a huge difference. The same parade comes across all the streets. Its simply a matter of starting and ending earlier or starting and ending later.
2. How close do you want to be to the front of the barricade? If you are short, I would recommend trying to be up near the front. The balloons are sky high and everyone can see these, but there are also bands, dancers and acrobatic performances that can be harder to see if you are further back. If you are going to do this I personally think you may as well get the best view you can. Being further away from the street may impact your visibility to the street performers. If you just want to see the balloons however or are blessed with height, you can easily come a few hours later.
3. Of course where you are situated the night before will determine how early you need to wake up. I was located on 45th street so I had the luxury of being a short 10 minute walk away. If you are planning on following my timing schedule, adjust your wake up time based off of transportation time along with the other two factors listed above.
6:00 AM
Grab some breakfast and head out to your desired viewing spot (we were on 46th and 6th). To my surprise even at this time, we were unable to get a spot right up near the front of the barricade. My guess is 5:30 AM is the time to be at the viewing spots (near the streets in the 40’s) if you want to be all the way in the front. Our spot was more than fine though as we were just slightly behind the front row of people and still had a great view.
6:00 AM - 7:00 AM
Get to know your neighbors. You all will be keeping each other company. Everyone is in a great mood and this is honestly half the fun of the experience! People saved our spots, offered us coffee and lent us hand warmers, everyone was in the giving friendly mood! It may be cold, and early but people really are happy to be here. It is all part of what makes it a great American experience!
7:00 AM-9:00 AM
These are the hardest hours to get through. Adrenaline has died down and the cold starts sinking in. This is the time you should bust out your entertainment. Play games with your neighbors, listen to music or read a book. Avoid constantly checking the clock. Just enjoy the fact that you’re one of millions of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving together.
9:00 AM
The parade has officially started but chances are if you aren’t by the Central Park waiting point, you’ll have to wait a bit longer for the floats to make their way down to your street. At this point adrenaline kicks back in as you know you are close to witnessing the long awaited parade.
9:45 AM -11:00 AM
The sight of the large Macy’s Star Shaped Balloon means you have made it! The parade has begun.
The balloons are spectacular to see, I was really impressed with the size and how awesome they looked with the backdrop of the New York City buildings. In between the floats, marching bands, dancers, acrobats, and lots of pazzazz filled the streets. “Walkers” dressed in awesome costumes, energized the crowd by high-fiving people and shooting confetti into the air. I was highly impressed by the creativity of the costumes throughout the parade. The marching bands were also amazing. They may have been my favorite part of the whole parade. They brought tons of life and energy into the crowd.
The parade is done really well and you will definitely enjoy it. The one thing that was missing, in my opinion, was more music. When there were no marching bands or loud floats, there were some dull moments that killed the crowd’s energy.
11:30 AM -12:00 PM
At this point you are all floated out and ready to get to the warmth. You will start seeing Christmas floats signifying the near end of the parade. Enjoy the spirit and joy as everyone celebrates the official start to the beginning of the holiday season!
Worth it?
Once yes, twice no. When it comes to these kinds of things it’s not just about the parade, it’s about the total experience. The balloons are really cool to see, especially with New York City buildings in the backdrop, but the experience is more than the balloons. It is the waking up, being with loved ones, embracing the jolly crowd, and feeding off the energy of the performers.
The spectacle itself is pretty nice. The balloons, dances, marching bands and costumes were pretty awesome. As I mentioned, I did wish there was more music as it would have energized the crowd more. Most of the singing performances are done by the Macy’s building and require special tickets so you don’t hear as much music as you do when watching it on TV. The spectacle is great and the joy of being there is special. Just don’t expect an all-out concert like you see on TV.
