Some Balloons We're Excited About

On Wednesday, November 23 (Thanksgiving Eve), the longstanding traditional Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Balloon Inflation is set to hit the streets around the American Museum of Natural History.

Macy’s has yet to confirm all the details, but in recent years, it’s run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. with visitors entering the event at 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue, then heading east to Central Park West, north to 77th Street and then making a circle of the museum, ending at 81st Street and Central Park West.

Here’s how Astronaut Snoopy looked during 2019’s inflation.

inflated snoopy

And here is how he looked when marching in the parade that year, when he could not be too high up because of heavy winds. In fact, that year there was talk the balloons would be grounded due to the winds, but the parade was able to take place and Snoopy seemed to enjoy every moment.

snoopy float macy's parade

Astronaut Snoopy is set to return to this year’s parade and hopefully he’ll be high in the sky.

Harold the Fireman is another ballon we saw at 2019’s inflation event.

Harold the Fireman inflation night

Like Snoopy, he had to remain low when participating in the parade.

Harold the Fireman macy's float

However, over the years he certainly had the opportunity to travel further up into the sky.

2017

2016

2015

The Sinclair dinosaur was another character we saw at 2019’s inflation.

Sinclair dinosaur balloon inflation

And like his fellow participating balloons that year, low was the way to go.

However, like Harold the Fireman, the Sinclair dinosaur, in bygone years, did have an opportunity to be in high places.

2017

2016

Sinclair returns to this year’s parade but with a new look.

Some characters who weren’t invited back include Mighty Red Power, Hello Kitty!, Green Eggs and Ham, as well as The Grinch.

So if these balloons won’t be coming this year, who will join Astronaut Snoopy, Harold the Fireman and the revamped Sinclair?

One returning character is Diary of a Wimpy Kid, who from 2012 to 2015 participated in the parade looking like this:

In 2016, Wimpy got a new look but nearly broke his nose on a lamp post.

He took a few years off to recover from his almost-injury, returning in 2019 to stay low with his inflated colleagues.

This year, the Wimpy kid will have a new balloon, this time focusing on “The Cheese Touch,” which is a superstition originating from the first Wimpy Kid book as seen in this You Tube video.