Macy’s 95th Thanksgiving Day Parade: A Grandstanding Experience

Pikachu and Eevee Float!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I hope that all of you are using today to relax, spend time with your families/friends, and eat your hearts out! In celebration of Thanksgiving and the revival of my blog, enjoy reading about my experience at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! Not only was I able to watch the parade in person, but I had the opportunity to view it from the grandstands. I will do my best to answer all of the questions that you are probably eager to ask.

This is a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ticket for Uptown 76th Street for grandstand seats.

1. How did I manage to get a ticket to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade grandstand seats?

The grandstand tickets are only reserved for special guests of Macy’s. That includes but is not limited to a select few corporate employees and participants in the parade. It just so happened that my sister is a Macy’s Senior Associate Buyer and won tickets in the annual lottery. I am so thankful that she offered me a chance to attend!

We decided to sit up high on the bleachers!

2. What time did we arrive for the parade?

Our tickets stated that seating would begin at 5:30am and seats would not be guaranteed after 7:30am. Once we found a parking spot in Manhattan (yes, we actually found a spot), we stood in line starting at 6:15-6:30. Believe it or not, we were not the first ones to arrive. Regardless, arriving at 6:15-6:30 was ideal and did not impact our views or selection of seats to choose from. We think that people who arrived around 5:30am had to spend more time sitting in the cold!

My view of the line. We were not the first to arrive!

We were sitting down by 7:00am and found great seats.

3. What did we bring to the parade? What did we wear?

We brought bagels, water bottles, hand warmers, blankets, portable chargers, and containers with coffee/tea. I recommend bringing a good camera to take pictures!

Thanksgiving day 2021 was a perfect day but was still chilly. On the top, I wore a ski jacket, long sleeve shirt, and t-shirt. On the bottom, I wore leggings, jeans, and warm socks under walking shoes. All extra accessories included a hat, scarf, and gloves.

4. What did we see at the Macy’s 95th Thanksgiving Day Parade?

There is an official lineup guide on performers, groups, floats, and balloons on Macy’s website. Below are a few photos and videos from my point-of-view.

The iconic logo!

The Green Giant had to make an appearance!

Tai Verdes is riding the Big Turkey Spectacular.

Sesame Street!

Paw Patrol!

Here’s a pictures with me, Spongebob Squarepants, and Gary the Snail!

My sister and I at the end of the parade!

Conclusion: The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was never on my Bucket List but I am grateful that I had the opportunity to attend. Thank you all for your time to read about my adventures and I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday!