Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

The Macy's Parade is probably one of the biggest events held on Thanksgiving.  This year Macys will be celebrating their 84th Parade and it will be held like always in New York City starting on 77th street near Central Park.  You cannot purchase tickets for the parade and visitors are advised to get to the parade by 7am to get a good seat.  Also make sure to make reservations at any of the restaurants to ensure you have somewhere to ear because the restaurants will be packed after the parade.  The parade will start at 9:00am and will be aired on NBC.  Here is some history to give you a bit of background if you dont know much about the parade. Be sure to tune in an watch while you are preparing Thanksgiving dinner :)  Hope everyone has a fabulous Thanksgiving!!!

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States, tied with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than the 6abc IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia. In the 1920s many of Macy's department store employees were first-generation immigrants. Proud of their new American heritage, they wanted to celebrate the United States holiday of Thanksgiving with the type of festival their parents had loved in Europe.

In 1924, the inaugural parade (originally known as the Macy's Christmas Parade and later the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Christmas Parade) was staged by the store. Employees and professional entertainers marched from 145th Street in Harlem to Macy's flagship store on 34th Street dressed in vibrant costumes.There were floats, professional bands and live animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo. At the end of that first parade, as has been the case with every parade since, Santa Claus was welcomed into Herald Square. At this first parade, however, the Jolly Old Elf was enthroned on the Macy's balcony at the 34th Street store entrance, where he was then "crowned" "King of the Kiddies. With an audience of over a quarter of a million people the parade was such a success that Macy's declared it would become an annual event.

For more information visit their official website at http://social.macys.com/parade2010/#/home