Day Trip to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

As the 2015 holiday season begins, most people undoubtedly have quite a few day trips on their calendar for the coming weeks, embarking upon a hectic-yet-happy whirlwind of visits to family and friends. Kicking off the festivities, of course, is Thanksgiving, which falls this year on Thursday, November 26. The granddaddy of Thanksgiving celebrations is the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, now marking its 89th magnificent march of floats, bands, celebrities, performances, clowns, oversized character balloons, and – pulling up the rear and heralding the official start of the Christmas season – Santa and Mrs. Claus in their grand sleigh. More than 50 million Americans will be viewing the traditional gala pageant at home on TV, but for those of us who live within driving (or mass transit) distance, why not take a break from the cooking, arrive at Grandma’s a bit later in the afternoon, and make a special day trip to see the parade up close and personal?

The parade kicks off at West 77th Street and Central Park West, travels down to West 59th Street and Columbus Circle, and turns left on Central Park South to Sixth Avenue, continuing south to West 34th Street before turning right towards Herald Square, home of the flagship Macy’s department store – a route that provides two and a half miles’ worth of public viewing for 3.5 million enthusiastic, cheering spectators of all ages. According to parade websites, there are three recommended areas along the route that offer the best watching spots: the first leg along Central Park West, the Time Warner Center near Columbus Circle (where you can view from the upper floor windows of the mall), and along Sixth Avenue between Central Park South and West 38th Street.

The parade begins at 9:00 a.m., and devoted early birds – or those who are most determined to claim a prime spot – can be found camping out as early as 6:00 a.m. near the starting point; a bit later farther down Sixth Avenue. The parade is held rain or shine, and temperatures through the years have run the gamut from freezing to fabulous, so be sure to dress for the weather and brace yourself for the jostling crowds – but it’s well worth the quintessential New York City experience!

Can’t manage the trip to see the parade on Thanksgiving Day? Then perhaps you can catch what has become another popular ritual for throngs of fans: the Macy’s Parade Balloon Inflation, which takes place the day before Thanksgiving, from 3:00 to 10:00 p.m. at West 79th Street and Columbus Avenue, near the American Museum of Natural History. Once an “open secret” for native New Yorkers, the eye-popping inflation of the colorful helium giants now draws approximately one million people, with the festive crowd peaking later in the evening as the balloons take shape.

For up-to-the-minute updates on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, call the parade hotline at (212) 494-4495 or visit the website at www.macys.com/parade.