The 95th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will take place on November 25th, 2021, in New York City, and will be shown to viewers live on NBC that same day from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. It will be hosted by Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Al Roker.
Contents
Parade Lineup
Listed below is the current information known about the 2021 line of march. More information will be added as time goes by and new/returning Parade units are announced.
Bold indicates a new Parade unit, and * indicates a retired Parade unit.
Balloons
Giant Balloons
- Ada Twist, Scientist (Netflix) - 1st time
- Funko Pop!-Inspired Grogu (Funko) - 1st time
- Pikachu & Eevee (The Pokémon Company International) - 1st time
- Astronaut Snoopy (Peanuts Worldwide) - 3rd time
- The Boss Baby (DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures) - 2nd time
- Chase from PAW Patrol (Nickelodeon) - 5th time
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Abrams Children's Books) - 6th time
- Goku (Toei Animation, Inc.) - 3rd time
- Papa Smurf (Nickelodeon) - 4th time
- Pillsbury Doughboy (Pillsbury) - 8th time
- Red Titan from Ryan's World (Sunlight Entertainment and Pocket.Watch) - 2nd time
- Sinclair's DINO (Sinclair Oil Corporation) - 7th time
- Sonic the Hedgehog (SEGA) - 4th time
- SpongeBob SquarePants & Gary (Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants) - 3rd time
Heritage Balloons
- Smokey Bear (U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service) - 3rd time
Novelty Balloons
- Tiptoe (Macy's) - 1st time
- Toni, the Bandleader Bear (Macy’s) - 1st time
- "Believe" Stars (Macy's) - 6th time
- Acorn (Macy's) - 4th time
- Arrtle the Pirate (Macy's) - 3rd time
- Blue & White Macy's Stars (Macy's) - 4th time
- Red & Green Candy Cane (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Ice Cream Cone (Macy's) - 2nd time
- Opening Macy's Stars (Macy's) - 4th time
- Pumpkins (Macy's) - 8th time
- Snow Crystal Ornaments (Macy's) - 11th time
- Wiggle Worm (Macy's) - 5th time
- Yellow Macy's Stars (Macy's) - 6th time
Balloonicles
- Baby DINOs (Sinclair Oil Corporation) - 4th time
- Go Bowling (GoBowling.com) - 4th time
Trycaloons
- Tough Guy and Bulldog (Macy's) - 10th time
- Nutcracker and Mouse King (Macy's) - 9th time
Floats
- Celebration Gator (Louisiana Office of Tourism) - 1st time
- Colossal Wave of Wonder (Kalahari Resorts and Conventions) - 1st time
- Magic Meets the Sea (Disney Cruise Line) - 1st time
- Winning Winter Together (MassMutual/NHL) - 1st time
- 1-2-3 Sesame Street (Sesame Workshop) - 17th time
- Big Turkey Spectacular (Jennie-O) - 2nd time
- Big City Cheer! (Spirit of America Productions) - 6th time
- Blue's Clues & You! (Nickelodeon) - 3rd time
- The Brick-Changer (The LEGO Group) - 3rd time
- Christmas in Town Square (Lifetime) - 2nd time
- Deck the Halls (Balsam Hill) - 5th time
- Elf Pets (The Lumistella Company) - 3rd time
- Everyone's Favorite Bake Shop (Entenmann's) - 5th time
- Fantasy Chocolate Factory (Kinder) - 3rd time
- Harvest in the Valley (Green Giant) - 5th time
- Her Future is STEM-Sational (Olay) - 2nd time
- Heartwarming Holiday Countdown (Hallmark Channel) - 7th time
- Home Sweet Home (Cracker Barrel Old Country Store) - 3rd time
- Macy's Singing Christmas Tree (Macy's) - 4th time
- Mount Rushmore's American Pride (South Dakota Department of Tourism) - 12th time
- Rexy in the City (COACH) - 3rd time
- Santa's Sleigh (Macy's) - 13th time
- Snoopy's Doghouse (Peanuts Worldwide) - 2nd time
- Tom Turkey (Macy's) - 4th time
- Toy House of Marvelous Milestones (New York Life) - 3rd time
Specialty Units
- NYPD Highway Patrol Motorcycle Unit - 37th time
- Macy's Starlets (Macy's) - 4th time
- Big Red Shoe Car (McDonald's) - 22nd time
Toy Floats
- Rocking Giraffe (Macy's) - 11th time
- Rocking Lobster (Macy's) - 32nd time
- Rocking Moose (Macy's) - 6th time
Marching Bands
- Lincoln-Way Marching Band (Frankfort, IL), will perform "Metamorphosis"
- Macy's Great American Marching Band (Nationwide)
- NYPD Marching Band (New York, NY)
- Ann Richards Marching Stars (Austin, TX), will perform "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
- Centerville Jazz Band (Centerville, OH), will perform "The Twelve Days of Christmas"
- Hampton University Marching Force (Hampton, VA), will perform "A Celebration of Family"
- Sound of Brownsburg Marching Band (Brownsburg, IN), will perform "Mirko"
- Trabuco Hills High School Thundering Mustangs Marching Unit (Mission Viejo, CA), will perform "Pure Imagination"
- Union High School Renegade Regiment (Tulsa, OK), will perform "Oklahoma"
- University of Alabama Million Dollar Band (Tuscaloosa, AL), will perform "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"
Guest Stars
- Captain Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Cinderella, Tiana, Ariel and Prince Eric (Magic Meets the Sea)
- The Cast and Muppets of Sesame Street, will perform "See Us Coming Together" (1-2-3 Sesame Street)
- Ronald McDonald, Grimace and Hamburglar (Big Red Shoe Car)
- Josh, Joe and Steve (Blue's Clues & You!)
- Elf on the Shelf Scout Elves (Elf Pets)
- Macy's Singing Christmas Tree Choir (Macy's Singing Christmas Tree)
- Mount Rushmore Mascots (Mount Rushmore's American Pride)
- Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus (Santa's Sleigh)
- Charlie Brown (Snoopy's Doghouse)
Performance Groups
- Ballet Hispànico (New York, NY)
- J.U.M.P. (Strongsville, OH), will perform “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
- Opening Cheer Group (Nationwide)
- Spirit of America Cheer (Nationwide)
- Spirit of America Dance Stars (Nationwide)
Clowns
- Artist Clowns - 17th time
- Aviator Clowns - 2nd time
- Baseball All-Stars - 19th time
- Birthday Party Clowns - 28th time
- Circus Clowns - 10th time
- City Tourist Clowns - 7th time
- Corny-Copia Clowns - 17th time
- Funny Farm Clowns - 17th time
- Funny First Responders - 1st time
- Funny Flurry Clowns - 3rd time
- Half-Baked Holiday Sweets - 14th time
- Hoedown Clowns - 9th time
- Holiday Clowns - 15th time
- Jester Clowns - 15th time
- Malt Shop Clowns - 13th time
- Nutty Professor Einsteins & Wacky Graduate Clowns - 20th time
- Nutty-Cracker Ballet Clowns - 11th time
- Parade Brigade Clowns - 5th time
- Pre-K Clowns - 28th time
- Rag Doll Clowns - 15th time
- Safari Clowns - 15th time
- Santa's Toy Box Clowns - 15th time
- Silly Sailors - 5th time
- Silly Seaside Clowns & Sea Creatures - 40th time
- Sleepy Clowns - 20th time
- Spacey Clowns - 1st time
- Springtime Clowns - 17th time
- Super Hero Clowns - 2nd time
- Turkey Tech Players & Sports Fans - 11th time
- Wedding Bell-Y Laffs Limo Service Clowns - 2nd time
- Wintertime Clowns - 4th time
Stilt Walkers
- Entenmann's Bakers - 5th time
- Groom - 2nd time
Trivia
- The 95th annual procession will mark the return of the 2.5-mile long Parade route, with spectators once again being allowed to line the streets of New York City. The 2021 Macy's Parade health and safety procedures include, but are not limited to the following:
- All volunteer participants and staff will be vaccinated. Vaccine verification will be conducted at all back of house entry points. A few exceptions to this procedure may be made at the sole discretion of Macy’s and its medical consultant based on select extenuating circumstances. For those rare instances, Macy’s medical consultant will administer COVID-19 testing and clear the individual for Parade participation.
- All participants and staff regardless of vaccination status will wear face coverings and additional protective equipment, as warranted by their role. As appropriate, exceptions may include singers, dancers and musicians performing down the route or for the national broadcast.
- Macy’s will implement a reduction in the overall number of participants of between 10 to 20 percent (approximately 800 to 1,600 participants).
- Social distancing practices will be in place at all interior/exterior Parade operations including costuming areas, seating and participant check-in.
- On September 8th, 2021, Macy's released the initial production plan for that years Parade:
- Marching band, cheer and specialty group performances originally slated for the 2020 Parade will take place this year live in New York City.
- Macy’s signature giant character balloons will once again be flown with 80-100 handlers, the flight management team and its anchor vehicle.
- The return of Macy’s Balloon Inflation event is currently under consideration. More information will be announced in November.
- Details on the exact public viewing locations including viewing maps, entry guidelines and restrictions will be announced in November. Spectators are encouraged to check macys.com/parade in advance of their travel to the Parade route.
