FANFAQ: How Do You Become a Balloon Handler in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Here's how I went from being a fan watching at home on TV to actually marching in the parade.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a huge tradition for my family. Every year, since I was a little girl, I would spend my Thanksgiving morning sat in front of the TV, excited to see my favorite singers perform and check out the cool balloons. The stretch between Thanksgiving and New Year’s has always been my favorite time of year, and the parade has always felt like the perfect kickoff — starting with a giant turkey and ending with Santa.
As I got older, a silly little dream began to materialize. I wanted to be in the parade. Realistically, I was in marching band and that would have seemed like the obvious route. I also often joked that I wanted to be a clown. But I never expected that I’d become a balloon handler. In fact, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a balloon handler. But somehow, in my first time witnessing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I actually ended up being a participant. Here’s how!
How Do You Become a Balloon Handler in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Unfortunately, it’s not so easy. Macy’s reserves the opportunity to volunteer in the parade in any capacity to its employees and partners. That means applications are never opened to the general public.
“Parade participants are primarily employees or associates of Macy’s or its affiliated companies, their families and friends, or others who have business relationships with the Parade, its broadcast partners & its Parade partners,” the company said.
So how did I do it? At the time, I was an intern for NBCUniversal, which broadcasts the parade. About two or three months before the parade, I got an email offering interns volunteer spots in the 2021 parade. I immediately applied and was accepted! I got to be a balloon handler for the Pikachu and Eevee balloon, which debuted that year.
In 2022, I returned as a balloon handler in the parade. I got to be part of the team handling the brand new Bluey balloon. But that time, getting in took some luck. I wasn’t an NBC intern anymore, and instead, I asked around in a balloon handlers Facebook group I’m in and was able to find someone gracious enough to sponsor me. Now, I don’t recommend cold-DM’ing half the internet, but it’s how I did it. I’ve even seen people connect with sponsors in similar ways, posting openly on TikTok about wanting to join.
If you’re interested in some of the other roles in the parade, Macy’s lays out the guidelines for those too. If you’re part of a performance group, like a marching band or dance organization, applications are actually getting ready to open for the 2027 parade! They’ll be available beginning November 29, 2025, and selected groups will be notified by June 30, 2026.
What’s it like being a Balloon Handler?
Being in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was such a full-circle moment for me. If you’re wondering what it’s like, I have to say it’s very beautiful…but also very hectic. You wake up super early to get buses to Central Park with a bunch of other enthusiastic strangers, and everyone is wearing matching overalls and balloon-themed shawls that you’d never notice on TV but are honestly so cute.
All of the official training dates in September and October had passed by the time I was approved, so the first time I ever held a balloon was the morning of the parade. I was…not ready. I had seen the viral videos of balloons nearly flying away. My dad even joked, “Don’t get picked up by Pikachu!” I laughed, but deep down I was actually a little nervous.
When I got to Central Park, what shocked me most was how huge everything is up close. You don’t fully understand the size of these balloons until you’re standing underneath one with 60+ other people, each gripping a “bone” handle used to guide the balloon. Throughout the route, captains are constantly shouting instructions: roll up your bone, roll it down, pick up the pace, slow down, watch the turn. Everything is way more active than it looks, especially on a windy day or when you have to jog to keep up. Still, they want you to have fun during the 2.5 mile adventure, and it’s not hard to do when the energy of the parade crowd is magnetic.
Everyone is ridiculously happy, and every street is packed with people filling the sidewalks, crowding the balconies, and leaning out of windows to cheer. Kids are absolutely losing it when a balloon comes around the corner, and you’re right there, helping deliver this moment they’ll remember forever. It’s surreal.
The moment I will never forget, though, is turning onto 34th Street — the broadcast spot you see on TV every year. You can hear the Today Show anchors through the speakers. You can see the green-painted street with the giant Macy’s star. It’s the place where all the performers do their big number, and suddenly you’re the one walking through it. That’s the moment everything hit me and I thought to myself, “OMG… I’m actually in the parade I grew up watching!?!?!”
Being a balloon handler is exhausting, magical and unbelievably fun. I’ll always be grateful I got to do it twice.
If being part of the parade is a dream of yours, don’t write it off. Opportunities show up in unexpected places, and sometimes the things you loved as a kid end up meeting you again, but from a completely different angle than you may have expected. If it’s your dream to be in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I hope the stars align for you one day!
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