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November 14, 2016

How Much Does the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Cost

For many, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the kickoff of the holiday season. Now in its 90th year, the Manhattan spectacle is a tradition with a big audience. The live broadcast attracts 50 million TV viewers, and 3.5 million spectators watch it in person, pushing the total number of people in Manhattan to more than 5 million.

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While the job of putting on the parade may prompt images of Maureen O’Hara performing Doris Walker’s character in Miracle on 34th Street, executing such a parade actually takes the effort of 8,000 people, including more than 4,000 Macy’s employees who volunteer on Thanksgiving morning.

The Makings of a Parade

17 giant character balloons as well as other, smaller balloons
27 floats
10,000 parade marchers, including 1,000 clowns, 1,100 cheerleaders and dancers, and members of 12 marching bands from around the country
Celebrity appearances and music groups
Mini performances of 5 Broadway musicals
The Radio City Rockettes
And only 1 Santa Claus

Balloons

Some say the balloons are the highlight of the parade. With the largest balloons measuring 5 or 6 stories tall, they sure do make a statement. Snoopy, a well-loved character, has been in 38 parades, more than any other character. Each balloon requires 50 to 90 volunteer handlers and uses 300,000 to 700,000 cubic feet of helium. The minimum helium cost is $510,000, and notably, Macy’s is the world’s second-largest consumer of helium, trailing only the U.S. government.

The height at which the balloons can be flown is determined by a calculation of balloon size, volume of helium, gross weight and wind. Wind is the biggest concern when handling the balloons. While the narrow streets of New York City protect the balloons with predictable airflow most of the time, when a balloon approaches a street intersection, handlers must navigate unpredictable crosswinds that usually come from the west.

Construction

Floats and balloons are constructed at the Macy’s Parade Studio in Moonachie, N.J., where 26 sculptors, carpenters, metal workers and painters work year round. One float can take between four and nine months to go from sketch to completion. And a single float can include 100 to 200 pounds of glitter.

To get from New Jersey to New York City for the parade, balloons can be deflated for shipment. But floats must be constructed to collapse down to a width of 8.5 feet so they can fit through Lincoln Tunnel. And the preparations are more than just balloons and floats; about 700 new costumes are designed each year.

It’s Time for the Parade!

Balloons are inflated between 3 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Wednesday. Then, from midnight to 8 a.m., the floats are set up. Many spectators arrive before 6:30 a.m. to line up for a spot with the best view. In just two hours’ time, 200 costume fitters dress 2,000 balloon handlers, 400 kids, 300 float escorts and 900 clowns. The parade begins promptly at 9 a.m., following a 2.5-mile route that ends at the Macy’s storefront in Herald Square.

When It’s Over

After the parade ends, it takes just 15 to 20 minutes to deflate each balloon and pack it up for transport back to the warehouse. Costumes are packed into about 10 truckloads, and the laundering of these costumes will take about a month to complete.

But even before the parade is over, the work has begun on next year’s event. Marching bands are notified two years before their parade performance, with a representative taking a trip to the high schools and colleges to let them know in person.

Money and Costs

Macy’s, a company with annual revenues of more than $10 billion, is tight lipped about the total cost of the parade, but some of the expense is offset by having corporate sponsors for balloons and floats. Here’s what we know:

For new balloons, sponsoring companies pay $190,000, which includes construction and a parade fee. Repeat balloons cost sponsoring companies a $90,000 fee. Each float costs Macy’s approximately $30,000 to $100,000 to construct. The costumes that are in storage total $2 million in on-hand assets, including the custom-made outfits for Santa and Mrs. Claus. Broadway shows that performed in the parade saw a $300,000 jump in advance ticket sales after their parade performance.

Financial Roundup

Annual Costs

Helium: $510,000 minimum
Floats: $810,000 to $2.7 million
Property taxes: $138,573
Salaries: $51,433 is the salary for one studio coordinator
(There are 26 full-time staffers working year-round on parade prep and construction)
= $1.5 million to $3.4 million

Assets

Studio in New Jersey: $6.9 million
Costumes: $2 million
= $8.9 million

Freebies

4,000 Macy’s volunteers
Marching bands
Broadway performers
NYPD

A Look Back at Parade History Highlights

1924: Although it took place on Thanksgiving Day, the first parade was called the “Macy’s Christmas Day Parade.” That first year included live animals like camels, goats, elephants and donkeys; horses pulled the floats. About 250,000 spectators attended.
1925-1926: The parade added live lions, tigers and bears.
1927: The name was changed to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The live animals were replaced by giant balloons because the animals frightened children. The first balloons included Felix the Cat, The Dragon, The Elephant and Toy Soldier.
1933: This was the only year in parade history when Santa Claus led the parade instead of ending it. Also, it was the first year the parade was recorded on newsreel and then later screened in theaters.
1942-44: The parade was cancelled because of World War II.
1947: The movie Miracle on 34th Street was released, including the parade as a significant part of the plot.
1948: The parade was telecasted for the first time by NBC.
1957: The Radio City Rockettes appeared in the parade for the first time.

November 17, 2015

Stores That Will Be Closed on Thanksgiving

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November 16, 2015

15-Minute Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving may be the most annoying holiday. It’s bad enough that you have to spend all day cooking for your relatives, but Thanksgiving has the audacity to come on the day before Black Friday! Seriously, whoever scheduled Thanksgiving should have been a little more considerate than to put it right in front of the biggest and best shopping day of the year.

We know you want to get out of that kitchen and in line at Best Buy, Kohl’s, Kmart or Walmart as soon as humanly possible. Well, not to worry! We’ve got all the tips and tricks you’ll need to cut your Thanksgiving prep time way down so you can start celebrating what the holidays are really all about: unrestrained consumerism. Get ready for your 15-minute Thanksgiving!

Invite Guests — Lots and Lots of Guests

We know what you’re thinking. Guests!? Won’t that be more work for me? Well, not if you put your guests to work. Invite all your friends and relatives over for Turkey Day, then “politely” suggest that since you’re hosting, maybe they could bring a side dish or dessert. Before you know it, you’ve got a table full of chumps who’ve done all your cooking for you.

Buffet Style

Once again, it’s time to put your guests to work. Don’t waste precious minutes individually serving everyone at the table. Set out all your dishes and invite everyone to serve themselves. Setting up your Thanksgiving meal buffet-style is a great way to speed up the day. All your guests can start grabbing food at the same time and get down to eating much quicker. To make it even more fun and casual, forgo the dinner table altogether. Invite guests to eat wherever they please. Football fans can take their turkey into the TV room to keep watching the big game. Kids can huddle in the playroom for their own fun meal. Just have garbage bags stationed everywhere; this will encourage people to throw out their own trash, saving you even more work.

Speedy Bird

Your guests are getting you out of cooking any sides or desserts, but if you’re hosting Thanksgiving, there’s one dish you won’t be able to escape from making: the turkey. As Thanksgiving host, the bird is your solemn responsibility. Luckily, cooking a turkey doesn’t have to be an arduous, all-day event. Explore some alternative, time-saving ways to get the turkey on the table and ready to eat. Deep frying a turkey cuts your cooking time down to an hour. Spatchcocking it (cutting out its backbone and flattening it) will also reduce the bird’s time in the oven. Of course, there’s also the ultimate time saver: buying a pre-cooked bird at the store. Just pop it in the oven with the heat on low before your guests arrive and no one will ever know you didn’t cook it yourself.

Put It On Paper

Cleanup can be a real time-killer on Thanksgiving. Instead of spending hours at the sink scrubbing gravy stains off your mother’s fine china, just dump it all into a garbage bag and be done with it! Simply switch to paper plates and plastic utensils this year. For some extra flare, stop in at your local party store for disposable dinnerware with seasonal designs. Don’t worry about coming off as “low-class.” Just tell people that normal dinner plates make everything too formal and you were going for a more fun, festive and friendly atmosphere this year.

Let the Wine Flow

Let’s get your guests nice and sleepy so they can head home to their nice, warm beds, and you can commence with your Black Friday festivities. The tryptophan in the turkey is a good start, but if you really want to send these freeloaders to snooze town, pour on the wine. Have bottles of it stationed everywhere and constantly be on hand to offer them a quick refill. There are a ton of nice, cheap red wines (the sleepiest of wines) that pair perfectly with turkey. Bottles of Montevina Zinfandel or Planeta La Segreta can both be purchased for under $15. For added effect, slowly turn up the temperature in your house over the course of the meal. Your guests will be ready to go before their second serving of pumpkin pie. (Also, maybe make sure they all have Lyft on their phone.)

And by the way, shopping Best Buy, Kohl’s, Kmart or Walmart online with Cash Back at Ebates will save you even more time to kick back this Thanksgiving.

Sources:

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November 4, 2013

Win a $100 Crate & Barrel Gift Card!

Looking to stock up on kitchen supplies in anticipation of Thanksgiving? Maybe you aren’t hosting but want to bring a nice gift? We are here to help! One lucky Ebates fan will win a $150 Crate & Barrel gift card!

October 18, 2013

Kick off the Holiday Season with Some Double Cash Back!

The holidays are right around the corner, can you believe it? We are kicking things off right with a great sale featuring Double Cash Back at lots of great merchants. Shop now!