NOV 16 A HISTORY OF THE MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE BALLOONS

Thanksgiving is a mere twelve days away! As always, Americans will watch the fantastic, gigantic balloons at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV. It all began in 1924 when employees at Bamberger's Department Store on 34th Street had an idea. To celebrate the holiday, they wanted to dress up in costumes and walk to work in a big group. Store owner Louis Bamberger loved the idea and decided to go for it.

To add to the pizazz, Bamberger added a marching band and a couple of floats. But why stop there? The entrepreneur contacted the Central Park Zoo and added a couple elephants, camels and donkeys to the procession. The best part was the ending. The doors of Bamberger's Department Store were flung open and Santa Claus himself was there to greet shoppers. Think of it as the original BLACK FRIDAY!

Three years later, the parade was so successful, it was drawing over a million spectators. All of which spooked the elephants and camels, so a creative replacement was implemented. Giant Kevlar helium-inflated balloons depicting favorite animals would be used instead. This proved amazingly popular, as now every fan could see them. In 1929, the Macy family bought Bamberger's store but pledged to keep the balloon tradition alive.

Felix the Cat was King of the Cartoon world and was the first character to appear in the parade. Mickey Mouse soon joined him, first flying in 1934. Back then, the helium-filled balloons were released into the sky. Each had a tag on it. If you found the deflated Micky in a New Jersey swamp weeks later, you could return it to Macy's for a prize. Sadly, one year Felix hit a power line and exploded. After this, they just deflated them.

After a three year hiatus, the parade proudly returned in 1945. It was bigger and better than ever. Thanks to TV, a slew of new cartoon characters were created. A 56-foot high Popeye debuted in 1957, followed by Bugs Bunny, Underdog and Bullwinkle J Moose. But 1968 was a banner year for the event. Snoopy made his official debut. Since then, he's been the most popular entry, appearing 40 times. Thinking the Peanuts were passe, the beloved beagle was dropped in 2016, leading to outrage. Mayor de Blasio delivered on his promise and Snoopy was back next year, never to leave again.

THE RANKINGS: Other popular cartoon characters include Garfield (18 appearances), SpongeBob Square Pants (13) and Woody Woodpecker (12). In addition, Spiderman (23) is the mot popular Superhero, besting even Superman (15). Sesame Street fares well, with Big Bird (19) and Kermit the Frog (10) in the lead. Finally, corporate cartoon creations also managed to wiggle their way into the line-up. Ronald McDonald is second-place overall, with 29 flights, followed by Pikachu (17) and Hello Kitty (11). Just in case you wanted to know!!