Pole Puppets are a series of large dolls depicting comical figures that were introduced in the late 1970's at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The puppets would be controlled by a Parade participant on the ground with a support system, allowing the puppets to blink their eyes, bob their head, and wave to the crowd. Designs of the pole puppets included a Farmer, a Wizard, a Hobo Old Man, generic People, the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, and a team of Snow Elves. The former three would only make one appearance an were retired after 1979, although they were in an initial lineup plan for 1980.
The remaining pole puppets made only one more appearance in the 1980 Parade, and were subsequently retired. Despite their retirement, the Snow Elves still exist in storage at the Macy's Parade Warehouse. Several of the Snow Elf heads were used as decorations for the 2017 Macy's Parade Studio Thanksgiving dinner alongside nursery rhyme-themed paraphernalia, to honor Manfred Bass who had passed away a month prior.
