The Friends-giving in POPCITY by Pop Mart float, featuring the famous Labubu.
Bronx Zoo's "Wondrous World of Wildlife" float returns for the 99th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The float features representations of the zoo's iconic animals and the Beaux-Arts architecture of its building.
Noorah, Santa’s Extraordinary Arctic Fox from The Elf on the Shelf Santaverse will be returning for the 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade after making her debut in 2024.

Thirty-two "larger-than-life character" balloons and three balloonicles will float down Manhattan on Thanksgiving Day, if the weather allows, for the 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

One of the largest parades in the world, the Thanksgiving Day spectacle, which is one year short of celebrating a century, is all set to kick off the 2025 holiday season as it returns on Thursday, Nov. 27.

Along with the giant balloons, 27 floats, four specialty units, 33 clown groups, 11 marching bands, performance groups and musical stars will parade down the streets of New York City to welcome "Santa Claus and the holiday season,” according to Macy's.

Macy's organizers keep the tradition dynamic by adding new features every year, usually based on recent pop culture moments and fan-favorite properties. Seven new floats, including a Labubu-themed one, will make their debut in 2025, along with five new balloon characters.

“Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the official kickoff to the holiday season and has been part of the nation’s stories and traditions for generations,” parade executive producer Will Coss said in a statement. “On Thanksgiving morning, larger-than-life character balloons, awe-inspiring floats and showstopping performances will create unforgettable moments and lasting holiday memories for millions of spectators in New York City and across the country.”

Here's what you need to know about which balloons, floats and performers will be part of this year's parade.

2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade balloons

This year's parade will introduce four new featured balloons, including:

  • Buzz Lightyear by Pixar Animation Studio
  • PAC-MAN by Bandai Namco Entertainment America, Inc.
  • Shrek’s Onion Carriage from Universal Pictures’ DreamWorks Animation
  • Mario by Nintendo

Returning balloons, according to Macy's, include:

  • Acorn
  • Beagle Scout Snoopy
  • Blue & White Macy's Stars
  • Bluey
  • Candy Cane
  • Diary Of A Wimpy Kid
  • Disney's Minnie Mouse
  • Dora
  • Gabby & Pandy Paws
  • Goku
  • Goldbear
  • Green Stars
  • Ice Crystals
  • Macy's Stars
  • Marshall from PAW Patrol
  • Monkey D. Luffy
  • Noorah
  • Pikachu & Eevee
  • Poinsettia Ornaments
  • Pumpkins
  • Red "Believe" Stars
  • Red Macy's Star
  • Smokey Bear
  • Soccer Ball
  • Spider-Man
  • SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary
  • Stuart the Minion
  • The Pillsbury Doughboy
  • Yellow Stars

New floats at the 2025 Thanksgiving Day Parade

Seven new floats are slated to appear in the parade this year:

  • The Counting Sheep's Dream Generator by Serta: A dreamy float is decorated with stars, moons, cloud fluff and some of the iconic sheep flock featured in Serta mattress commercials.
  • Friends-giving in POPCITY by Pop Mart float, aka the Labubu float: The Labubu-themed float will feature other Pop Mart characters, including Skullpanda, Peach, Riot, Dimoo, Molly, Duckoo and Mokoko.
  • Upside Down Invasion: Stranger Things by Netflix: A float set in the Hawkins National Laboratory and featuring an eight and a half foot tall Demogorgon puppet.
  • LEGO's Brick-tastic Winter Mountain: A wintery scene on Yeti Mountain where every component corresponds to an existing LEGO brick, piece and character.
  • The Land of Glaciers, Wildlife & Wonder by Holland America Line: An icy scene meant to capture "the grandeur of Alaska" with images of glaciers, wildlife and Denali National Park.
  • Master Chocolatier Ballroom by Lindt: An extravagant red and gold ballroom complete with all the chocolate trimmings.
  • The Littlest Float from Goldfish: The tiniest float, standing at just under 8 inches tall and adorned with to-scale Goldfish crackers.

Returning floats include:

  • 1-2-3 Sesame Street
  • Big Turkey Spectacular
  • Birds of a Feather Stream Together
  • Camp Snoopy
  • Candy Cosmos
  • Colossal Wave of Wonder
  • Deck the Halls
  • Dora's Fantastical Rainforest
  • Fantasy Chocolate Factory
  • Geoffrey’s Dazzling Dance Party
  • Harvest in the Valley
  • Heartwarming Holiday Countdown
  • Jolly Polly Pirate Ship
  • Magic Meets the Seas
  • Palace of Sweets
  • Pasta Knight
  • PINelope
  • Santa’s Sleigh
  • Tom Turkey
  • Wondrous World of Wildlife by Bronx Zoo
  • World of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Who will perform at the 2025 Thanksgiving Day Parade?

Tony Award-winning "Wicked" star Cynthia Erivo will open this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, USA TODAY exclusively revealed earlier. Erivo will deliver an opening number to kick off the festivities one week after the release of the highly anticipated musical sequel "Wicked: For Good."

Country artist Lainey Wilson, meanwhile, will perform in front of the Macy’s in Midtown Manhattan, as per NBC.

Here's the full list of stars expected to perform this year:

  • Drew Baldridge
  • Matteo Bocelli
  • Colbie Caillat
  • Ciara
  • Gavin DeGraw
  • Meg Donnelly
  • Mr. Fantasy
  • Foreigner
  • Debbie Gibson
  • Mickey Guyton
  • Christopher Jackson
  • Jewel
  • Lil Jon
  • Kool & the Gang
  • Darlene Love
  • Roman Mejia
  • Taylor Momsen
  • Tiler Peck
  • Busta Rhymes
  • Calum Scott
  • Shaggy
  • Lauren Spencer Smith
  • Luísa Sonza
  • Teyana Taylor

When is the 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

The 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade begins at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 27 and will run 3½ hours until noon.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade begins on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and ends at Macy’s flagship store at Herald Square.

How to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade

The event will be telecast on NBC starting at 8:30 a.m. in all time zones. It will also stream on Peacock, and Fubo subscribers will also be able to watch. An encore on NBC will follow at 2 p.m. ET/PT.

Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker of NBC's "Today" show will return as telecast hosts, NBC said. Despite bidding farewell to "Today" in early January, Kotb is coming back for one day to host the parade.

Contributing: USA TODAY's Mary Walrath-Holdridge

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Which balloons will float at the 2025 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

Reporting by Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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