The Defining Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Balloon of Every Decade

Everyone knows the best part of Thanksgiving is the sides—and the sideshow. For a few hours every November, the main meal makes room for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a feast for the eyes featuring colorful character balloons, festive floats, and a whole lot of helium. Since 1924, the parade has been a revolving door for America's favorite pop culture icons, from classic Mickey Mouse to Gen Alpha's beloved Bluey. As silly as the giant Snoopy and Spider-Man shadows over Manhattan's West Side may seem, it's this very spectacle that keeps millions glued to their screens every Thanksgiving morning. Here's a look back at the cartoon characters and blockbuster balloons that shaped the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade over the last century.1920s: Christmas Parade PremiereSanta Claus rides a parade float pulled by a team of horses down Broadway Street during the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City in 1925. | Bettmann/Getty ImagesBefore we had colossal character inflatables and live television coverage, Manhattan's biggest holiday celebration was known as the Macy's Christmas Parade. Launched on November 24, 1924, for a crowd of just 10,000 spectators, the event featured horse-drawn floats like this 1925 Santa Claus carriage and even live animals from the Central Park Zoo to usher in the holiday shopping season.1930s: Mickey Mouse Takes ManhattanThousands line Broadway as the giant Mickey Mouse balloon floats downtown at the 1934 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. | NY Daily News Archive/Getty ImagesFrom Disney's animation studio to the streets of Manhattan, the balloon adaptation of this beloved Disney character was introduced to the parade in 1934. Walt Disney designed the original Mickey Mouse balloon, which saw four more tweaks over the years.1940s: Post-War RebirthThe helium-filled fireman makes its way past the Hotel Astor at the 1948 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. | NY Daily News via Getty ImagesWhile Macy's halted the parade from 1942 to 1944 during World War II, all was right by the late 1940s, when oversized helium friends passed by Central Park once again. Quirky figures like Harold the Fireman—a play on Herald Square, where the route famously ran through—became big names thanks to broadcast networks increasingly covering the parade, with CBS putting it on screens nationwide for the first time in 1948.1950s: The Rise and Fall of Mighty MouseThe Mighty Mouse balloon suffers a mid-parade tear at Columbus Circle in 1956. | Hal Mathewson/NY Daily News Archive/Getty ImagesAs television turned the parade into a pre-pie living room tradition, live broadcasting brought unscripted drama. During the 1956 parade, the Mighty Mouse balloon tragically collided with a street sign, collapsing and slowly deflating at Columbus Circle in front of millions of viewers at home.1960s: Snoopy Takes FlightAviator Snoopy makes his official debut at the 42nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1968. | NBC/Getty ImagesSnoopy first joined the festivities in 1968 as an aviator. Most of the 1970s saw the Peanuts pup as an astronaut, while the '80s featured an ice-skating Snoopy. Broadcast on NBC, the debut started a half-century run that would eventually make Snoopy the most frequently featured character in parade history.1970s: Muppetmania Meets Macy's Kermit the Frog balloon during the 51st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 24, 1977. | NBC/Getty ImagesThe success of Sesame Street and The Muppet Show led to Muppetmania amidst the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the late '70s. Kermit the Frog debuted in 1977 as the parade's first major puppet-based balloon, marking the start of an era where Saturday morning TV staples ruled the route.1980s: Superman on SixthSuperman balloon during the 1981 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. | NBC/GettyImagesAmerica's favorite comic books came to life in more ways than one in the '80s, thanks to the success of Christopher Reeve's hit films and the return of the new and improved Superman balloon. Measuring 104 feet long and 35 feet wide, the massive character balloon made its mark on the Macy's Parade as the largest in history at the time. With its detailed, humanoid design, the 1980 "Man of Steel" also served as the final balloon manufactured by Goodyear, before DC's rival Marvel eventually took over the superhero slot with Spider-Man by 1989.1990s: A Primetime ParadeThe Bart Simpson balloon rides his skateboard down Manhattan during the 69th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1995. | Evan Agostini/Getty ImagesSoaring superheroes made way for skateboarding sitcom stars as quirky cartoons characterized cable TV in the '90s. The Bart Simpson balloon cruised through the decade for the most part—save for a split seam in 1993. The Cat in the Hat, on the other hand, faced a different fate in 1997, when heavy winds caused the inflatable to strike a lamppost and permanently change how the parade handles safety.2000s: New Millennium, New BalloonsSpongeBob SquarePants, the newest balloon, makes his way through Times Square during the 2004 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. | TIMOTHY A. CLARY/GettyImagesOne bright yellow cartoon character led to the next as the new millennium commenced, with the SpongeBob SquarePants balloon floating through Times Square for the first time in 2004. From Pokémon's Pikachu to the M&M crew, the parade's Y2K era was a manifestation of modern animation come to life. While far from the first quirky character to fly over Central Park, the SpongeBob balloon was the first square balloon in the history of the Turkey Day spectacle.2010s: Thanksgiving Goes Global The Goku balloon from "Dragon Ball Super: Broly" floats along the parade route during the 2018 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. | Michael Loccisano/GettyImagesThanksgiving might have started stateside, but the parade's pop-culture reach blew up beyond borders by the tail end of the 2010s. In 2018, Goku from Dragon Ball made history as the first Japanese manga character to join the festivities. Casting jagged shadows over the city with his spiky cyan hair, the Saiyan warrior helped introduce Macy's to a more worldly audience. For the franchise's 40th anniversary in 2024, the balloon got a makeover complete with Goku's classic black hair—plus back-up from fellow manga character Monkey D. Luffy's balloon.2020s: Streaming SuperstarsA view of the Bluey balloon during the 2022 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. | Michael Loccisano/GettyImagesEven a global pandemic couldn't stop the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from livening up the streets of Manhattan, with a scaled-down return in 2021 followed by an influx of fresh pop-culture characters in the years following. Featuring blown-up fan favorites like Bluey—the animated Australian pup—and Stuart the Minion, the late-November skies above New York basically doubled for a Roku screen.Read More: