Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Wiki

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The Grinch is a fictional character created by Dr. Seuss, who debuted in the 1955 children’s book How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Throughout various forms of media, the Grinch has universally been depicted as a green, pear-shaped, foul-tempered creature who lives in the seclusion of a cliff near WhoVille, with his pet dog Max. The Grinch is characterized by his disdain for the Christmas season, and his attempt to steal it from the citizens of WhoVille. The grumpy, anti-holiday spirit of the character has led to the term "Grinch" coming to refer to a person opposed to Christmas time celebrations.

History with the Macy's Parade[]

The Grinch Falloon (1997, 2002)[]

The Grinch made his Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade debut in the 1997 Parade, rising to the occasion as a 34-foot tall “falloon” - a Macy’s original creation consisting of a cold-air inflatable sitting atop a float. The whimsical falloon illustrated the moment The Grinch’s heart grew three sizes, riding in a sleigh filled with presents and goodies from his recent holiday heist. A gift sack behind him held a decorated Christmas tree, and a wreath adorned with a bow decorated the side of the sleigh. Escorting the falloon en route to 34th Street were a gable of Santa’s little helpers, waving to the crowd and spreading holiday cheer.

The falloon’s debut in the Parade was a part of a much larger advertising campaign, as the Grinch was named Macy’s Holiday Ambassador of 1997. To commemorate this event, a special holiday procession took place along the Parade route the Sunday before the 1997 Parade. The Santaland Express float traveled from 77th Street and Central Park West to Macy’s flagship 34th Street department store, with The Grinch, Mrs. Claus, a Toy Soldier and several lucky kids waving to the passerby's on the sidewalk.

Another part of this promotion included Macy’s distributing a specialty Grinch plush toy that was sold at Macy’s stores across the country. This plush toy mirrored the falloon's design, with his heart lighting up when you squeezed his hand. To promote the plush, the three-story tall Grinch falloon also made an appearance atop Macy’s 34th Street memorial marquee during the holiday season, greeting shoppers as they bustled along the busy sidewalk.

The Grinch falloon was temporarily retired after the 1997 Parade, though it would return to the line of march for the 2002 Parade, where he would to promote the Macy’s Holiday Parade at Universal Orlando Resort, which also sponsored the falloon that same year.

The falloon was one of the units that headed south for the holidays, appearing daily in the aforementioned Parade alongside a merriment of clowns, balloons and floats originating from the Macy’s Parade in New York City. Though the falloon was permanently retired from the main Parade after 2002, the falloon would make an annual voyage to Universal Orlando Resort and appear in the Holiday Parade until 2004.

Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical (2006)[]

The Grinch was once again represented in the Parade in the 2006 Parade, this time by the new Broadway musical. The talented cast of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” performed a shortened version of the show’s opening number “Who Loves Christmas”, only to be interrupted by The Grinch himself (accompanied by Max) in a scheming rendition of the iconic “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch”.

Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Balloon (2017-2019)[]

The Grinch returned to the line of march after over a decade of absence in the 2017 Parade, reintroduced as a giant helium balloon, to promote the then-upcoming adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas (later renamed to simply The Grinch) by Illumination Entertainment. The balloon featured The Grinch sneaking quietly down the Parade route, with a sack (large enough to hold over 2.8 million ornaments) full of gifts and goodies from his Christmas caper and his subversive smile. His trusty dog companion, Max, is perched on his back in his reindeer disguise. In total, The Grinch balloon took an entire year to complete, and measured 49-feet long, 24-feet wide and 37-feet tall.

For a segment on NBC Nightly News, the creation process of the Grinch balloon aired shortly before the 2017 Parade. The segment featured the Grinch balloon from its design process to the creation and inflation of the meanest, greenest balloon the Parade had ever seen.

The balloon made a total of three appearances, and was retired after subsequent appearances in the 2018 and 2019 Parades.

Though The Grinch balloon was retired the previous year, he would still appear in the reimagined 2020 Parade. Matthew Morrison brought the character to life to promote the upcoming television musical on NBC, as the cast of the pre-taped musical performed “Who Loves Christmas?” at the Troubadour Theatre in London.

See also[]

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