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The 41st Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1967) | The 42nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1968) | The 43rd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1969) | 
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The 42nd Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was held on November 28th, 1968 in New York City, and shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to noon EST. It was hosted by Lorne Greene, Betty White, and Joe Garagiola. Participating celebrities included the likes of Shirley Jones, Jack Cassidy, The Banana Splits, William Shanter, Jerry Vale, and Bobby Vinton.
Parade Lineup[]
Listed below are the various Parade units that appeared in the 1968 line of march. Each unit is listed in several categories and sub-categories, in addition to the unit's sponsor.
Bold indicates a new Parade unit and * indicates a retired Parade unit.
Balloons[]
- Smokey Bear (The Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention Program) - 3rd time
- Happy Dragon (Macy's) - 8th time
- Dino the Dinosaur (Sinclair Oil Corporations) - 6th time
- Underdog (Total Television Productions) - 4th time
- Bullwinkle Moose (Macy's) - 8th time
- Linus the Lionhearted (Post Cereals) - 5th time
- Superman (National Periodical Publications) - 3rd time
- Donald Duck (Walt Disney Productions) - 7th time
- Snoopy the Aviator (United Media) - 1st time
An alternate advert for the 1968 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Floats[]
- Carousel* (Macy's) - 4th time
- Doodlebug* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Fantasyland* (Macy's) - 1st time
- Soap Box Derby (Chevrolet) - 1st time
- Cat, Mouse, and Cheese (Macy's) - 1st time
- Circus (New York City Center) - 1st time
- Santa's Toy Factory (Anheuser-Busch) - 1st time
- Cinderella* (Chevrolet) - 3rd time
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang* (United Artists) - 1st time
- Mickey Mouse's 40th Birthday* (Disneyland) - 1st time
- You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown* (United Media/MGM Records)- 2nd time
- Santa's Sleigh (Macy's) - 2nd time
Specialty Units[]
- NYPD Mounted Unit - 42nd time
- "Holiday Treat for Children Everywhere" Banner - 5th time
- American LaFrance Fire Engine* (American LaFrance) - 1st time
- Antique Roadster (Macy's) - 1st time
- "American Museum of Natural History's 100th Anniversary" Banner* - 1st time
- Horse-Drawn Carriage (Macy's) - 1st time
- "If You Haven't Seen Macy's, You Haven't Seen New York" Banner - 5th time
- Buckboard (Macy's) - 2nd time
Push Floats[]
- Rocking Giraffe* (Macy's) - 5th time
- Clown Shack (Macy's) - 1st time
- Gorilla (Macy's) - ?th time
- Bear Bee (Macy's) - 1st time
- The Tortoise and the Hare (Macy's) - 1st time
- Airplane (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Snail (Macy's) - 1st time
- Rocking Horse (Macy's) - 11th time
Marching Bands[]
- Cardinal Dougherty High School Band (Philadelphia, PA)
- New York Police Department Emerald Society Pipe Band (New York, NY)
- Fairfield Union High School Marching Falcons (Lancaster, OH)
- Greater Kensington String Band (Philadelphia, PA)
- Morris Brown College Marching Wolverines (Atlanta, GA)
- Colonial Ancient Fife and Drum Corps (Beth Page, NY)
- Golden Triangle Baton and Drum Corps (Swissvale, PA)
- Colonial Grenadier Guard High School Marching Band (Orlando, FL)
- McDonald's All-American High School Band (Nationwide)
- Sunrisers Drum and Bugle Corps (Long Island, NY)
- United States Air Force Academy Drum and Bugle Corps (Colorado Springs, CO)
- NYC Mission Warriors Drum and Bugle Corps (New York, NY)
- St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Youth Organization Band (Boston, MA)
- Radford College Highlanders (Radford, VA)
- Kilgore College Marching Band (Kilgore, TX), performed "It's One of Those Days," "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You," and "This Is My Country"
- Istrouma High School Nawaganti Indians (Baton Rouge, LA)
Guest Stars[]
- Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy (Carousel)
- Your Father's Mustache (American LaFrance Fire Engine)
- Bayn Johnson (Doodlebug)
- The Banana Splits (Fantasyland)
- William Shatner (Soap Box Derby)
- Leon Bibb and the cast of New York City Center's production of Carousel (Circus)
- Jerry Vale (Antique Roadster)
- Tournament of Roses Queen: Linda Strother (Horse-Drawn Carriage)
- Johnny Whitaker, sang "Every Little Kid Can Be President" (Snail)
- Bobby Vinton, sang "I Love How You Love Me" (Cinderella's Carriage)
- America's Junior Miss: Debi Faubion (Cinderella's Carriage)
- Sally Ann Howes (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang)
- Disneyland Characters (Mickey Mouse's 40th Birthday)
- Sonny James, sang "Born to Be with You" (Buckboard)
- The Broadway Cast of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown)
- National Hula Hoop Champion
- Santa Claus (Santa’s Sleigh)
Performance Groups[]
- American Ballet Theater (New York City, NY)
- Roller Skating Champs
- Radio City Music Hall Rockettes
Clowns[]
- Skating Clowns - 1st time
Trivia[]
- The Popeye balloon was inflated at Macy's Herald Square, where it watched the Parade in honor of the balloon's retirement. To date, this remains one of only two instances where a balloon received its own retirement party, with the other being Dino the Dinosaur's 1977 retirement party.
- 1968 marked the first appearance of Snoopy as a giant balloon. The character would go on to become the longest-running single character to be represented by a balloon in Parade history, with nine different designs over eight balloons.