Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Balloon Inflation 2017

I'm not going to the Thanksgiving Day Parade this year, but I did want to go see the balloon inflation again. I went for the first time last year and it was so much better than I had expected. There were a lot of repeats from last year, but it was still fun and although it's a very popular event, we got through the line and saw every balloon in just over an hour.

We got off work early, so we got to the start of the line around 4pm and you can see in my photos as the sky gets progressively darker. The time of the event shifted two hours earlier (beginning at 1pm instead of 3pm), so they were almost all entirely inflated by the time we arrived. The crowd can seem overwhelming when you first enter the line, but once you get to the actual balloons, you have plenty of room to move around. 

There are always a few balloons that make me feel old and out of touch with children's entertainment, but I can mostly identify them even if I'm not very familiar with their shows or movies. New balloons this year include: Super Wings' Jett, Paw Patrol's Chase, The Grinch and Frozen's Olaf. There is also a new Harold balloon, a black-and-white baseball player that was featured in the Miracle on 34th Street. The classics are my favorite—the elves and Macy's stars especially—and I am sad to be missing Tom the Turkey (and his eyelashes!) this year.  

I've heard that the balloon inflation used to be a super chill event—almost a neighborhood secret—and I wonder why that's changed so much over the years (the Internet? Instagram?). It's still a very good alternative to the madness of the parade—no offense to all of the marching bands and clowns, but everyone knows the balloons are the best part. 

🦃Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃