scorecardBehind the scenes of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which reportedly costs millions to produce each year
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Behind the scenes of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which reportedly costs millions to produce each year

Piper described the energy on Thanksgiving morning: "It's the closest to magic time as you can get. The sun starts coming up over Central Park, marching bands start showing up, you hear the drums and tuning, clowns are goofing around, and the nets are coming off the balloons, and the people are cheering."

Behind the scenes of the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, which reportedly costs millions to produce each year

While balloon handlers are outfitted in jumpsuits, those riding the floats also get custom-made costumes. Here's a wig for the Lindt puppet costume.

While balloon handlers are outfitted in jumpsuits, those riding the floats also get custom-made costumes. Here

While most costumes are washer- and dryer-friendly, the very special Mr. and Mrs. Clause outfits are not. "These outfits are custom-made and worth thousands of dollars," Montgomery said. The boiled wool coats are kept in their own custom-made cedar closet for safe keeping against moths.

While most costumes are washer- and dryer-friendly, the very special Mr. and Mrs. Clause outfits are not. "These outfits are custom-made and worth thousands of dollars," Montgomery said. The boiled wool coats are kept in their own custom-made cedar closet for safe keeping against moths.

The costumes stored at the warehouse are worth more than $2 million in total. Rain and snow are the costume department's worst enemies — if the clothes aren't washed and dried in time, they can quickly mildew. After the parade, they have "mounds and mounds of laundry," Montgomery said.

The costumes stored at the warehouse are worth more than $2 million in total. Rain and snow are the costume department

Each volunteer is assigned a costume ahead of time. "This entire rack is alphabetized by last name," Montgomery explained. "On parade day, it's about smooth operations."

Each volunteer is assigned a costume ahead of time. "This entire rack is alphabetized by last name," Montgomery explained. "On parade day, it

All in the window of two hours on parade day morning, she and her team of 200 fitters dress 2,000 balloon handlers, 400 kids, 300 float escorts, and 900 clowns. On average, 700 new costumes are added to the collection. Montgomery designs all the costumes in-house.

All in the window of two hours on parade day morning, she and her team of 200 fitters dress 2,000 balloon handlers, 400 kids, 300 float escorts, and 900 clowns. On average, 700 new costumes are added to the collection. Montgomery designs all the costumes in-house.

When it comes to the more than 4,000 devoted Macy's employees who come from all over the Northeast to volunteer in the parade, it's the job of Kimberly Montgomery's team to make sure they're properly costumed and fitted.

When it comes to the more than 4,000 devoted Macy

"I always love it when people ask, ‘How do you get those giant balloons over to New York?' That’s the easy part! You take the helium out of them, and you roll them up," Piper said. These balloons are models from parades past.

"I always love it when people ask, ‘How do you get those giant balloons over to New York?

The balloons are hand-painted while fully inflated so that the paint won't crack. On parade day, the balloons are filled with helium, making them lighter for the performer who holds them.

The balloons are hand-painted while fully inflated so that the paint won

Workers inflate each chamber for six hours to test its resilience. All tests are marked and redone if the balloons don't pass the first time.

Workers inflate each chamber for six hours to test its resilience. All tests are marked and redone if the balloons don

Balloons are made of a special, nonporous balloon fabric, and different portions of the design are constructed as separate chambers. "If Wimpy Kid balloon stubs his toe and gets a tear, we don’t want the whole balloon to deflate. So for him, both feet are independent chambers," Piper explained.

Balloons are made of a special, nonporous balloon fabric, and different portions of the design are constructed as separate chambers. "If Wimpy Kid balloon stubs his toe and gets a tear, we don’t want the whole balloon to deflate. So for him, both feet are independent chambers," Piper explained.

By Halloween, all balloons are prepped, quality control-tested, and neatly packed away along this wall. Some of them have been ready since last December. "As soon as a parade is over, it’s like, 'OK, let's get these ready for the next parade, because we’re on a clock here!" Piper joked.

By Halloween, all balloons are prepped, quality control-tested, and neatly packed away along this wall. Some of them have been ready since last December. "As soon as a parade is over, it’s like,

Next up was the balloon warehouse, which was built just large enough to house a large scale, fully blown-up parade balloon. Macy's has experimented with different materials over time, from cotton fabric to neoprene. While many of the balloons are made inside this warehouse, Macy's works with several vendors, including the South Dakota-based Aerostar, to create all of the balloons seen in the parade.

Next up was the balloon warehouse, which was built just large enough to house a large scale, fully blown-up parade balloon. Macy

Projects from past parades decorate the warehouse, which the team moved into five years ago. This frame was originally built for Macy's "Mother Goose Land" back in 1990.

Projects from past parades decorate the warehouse, which the team moved into five years ago. This frame was originally built for Macy

One of the trickiest parts of the job is designing the floats so that they can be packed up to fit through the Lincoln Tunnel and into Manhattan the night before the parade. Once it's folded into itself, each float is only 8.5 feet wide. Here's what a float looks like when it's all packed up. “Every single float gets set up between midnight and 8 a.m., and the parade steps off at 9 a.m.," Piper said.

One of the trickiest parts of the job is designing the floats so that they can be packed up to fit through the Lincoln Tunnel and into Manhattan the night before the parade. Once it

With a full-time team of 26, backgrounds differ greatly. "We have painters, sculptors, carpenters, construction workers, metal workers, and more," Piper said.

With a full-time team of 26, backgrounds differ greatly. "We have painters, sculptors, carpenters, construction workers, metal workers, and more," Piper said.

When it comes to building each float and getting them ready on parade day, it's a team effort. Piper likes to tell his team, "You guys are like the post office — neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow — except, we do it one better, we deliver on Thanksgiving."

When it comes to building each float and getting them ready on parade day, it

"She's an incredibly fast worker," Piper said of Lucas' work. "See the back of that turkey? She painted that in a day." Last year marked Lucas' 30th parade.

"She

Piper loves telling kids when they visit the warehouse that the painter's studio has "every color in the rainbow plus two." Led by head painter Beth Lucas, all floats and balloons are painted by hand.

Piper loves telling kids when they visit the warehouse that the painter

That means working weekends. "We start early," Piper said. "We have a flexible schedule for our folks. On Friday and Saturday they do 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, it's 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m."

That means working weekends. "We start early," Piper said. "We have a flexible schedule for our folks. On Friday and Saturday they do 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, it

By the first week of September the longer work hours have begun, and the team hits the ground running to make sure the floats are ready in time for the parade.

By the first week of September the longer work hours have begun, and the team hits the ground running to make sure the floats are ready in time for the parade.

The construction time of each float varies greatly, but Piper told us it can take between four and nine months from the moment pencil hits the page to the time a float is complete.

The construction time of each float varies greatly, but Piper told us it can take between four and nine months from the moment pencil hits the page to the time a float is complete.

Various materials are used to create the floats, including styrofoam, aluminum, and sintra — a moldable, yet durable, material. Hot wire is used to melt right through many materials, like styrofoam.

Various materials are used to create the floats, including styrofoam, aluminum, and sintra — a moldable, yet durable, material. Hot wire is used to melt right through many materials, like styrofoam.

Once a rendering is ready to come to life, the sketch is moved out onto the warehouse floor. Here, Piper shows a sketch of the massive turkey and goose float that is almost complete.

Once a rendering is ready to come to life, the sketch is moved out onto the warehouse floor. Here, Piper shows a sketch of the massive turkey and goose float that is almost complete.

The studio has a library of books, mostly for children, that the artists use as a reference to help turn two-dimensional characters into real-life, 3D figures.

The studio has a library of books, mostly for children, that the artists use as a reference to help turn two-dimensional characters into real-life, 3D figures.

Models are then made scaled to size; you can see them sitting on the table here. Hanging above are balloon models from past parades.

Models are then made scaled to size; you can see them sitting on the table here. Hanging above are balloon models from past parades.

Each parade float starts out as an idea, a sketch on a piece of paper.

Each parade float starts out as an idea, a sketch on a piece of paper.

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