Val Bonner planned for a decade to attend the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on her 50th birthday, and this year she got her wish, joining the throngs of holiday revelers in Manhattan cheering the giant balloons and thousands of marchers.
"It's just fabulous -- I cried when I saw it," said Bonner, of Steilacoom, Wash. "This is my gift to myself. I've been saving for years for it. It's a dream come true."
Bonner, her husband, Frank, and son Jack stood with shrieking, delighted children throwing confetti and happy parents watching the spectacle under sunny skies.
The atmosphere along the route was upbeat and jovial despite the nation's economic downturn. "It's something you can do with your kids for free," said Martha Muccio of Manalapan, N.J. "And it makes them happy, takes our minds off everything."
Parade celebrities include Miley Cyrus, a favorite among many 'tween girls who carried signs proclaiming their devotion for the star. "She's just the coolest!" said 'tween-in-waiting Isabella Muccio, 6.
Organizers said more than a million spectators viewed the 82nd annual parade in person, with another 50 million watching on television. The 2.5-mile route winds from Central Park West and West 77th Street to Herald Square, in front of Macy's flagship store.
New to the revelry this year were Buzz Lightyear, the square-jawed, action-figure astronaut made famous by the 1995 film "Toy Story," Horton, the compassionate elephant of Dr. Seuss books, and a Smurf balloon. The bright blue, gnome-like Smurfs first appeared in a Belgian comics magazine in 1958. They were popularized by a U.S. television series that began in 1981. Old favorites like Kermit the Frog are also back.
An inflated Keith Haring work of a figure holding a big heart joined dozens of other balloons, 28 floats and 10 marching bands in Thursday's spectacle. The Haring balloon was the favorite of 10-year-old Christopher Simpson, who studied the artist for two months this year.
"Watching it live is really a treat; we've only ever seen it on TV," said Christopher, of Ellicott City, Md., who stood with his 8-year-old sister Hayleigh and 6-year-old brother Philip. "I'm really impressed with the Haring work."
Other celebrities included Trace Adkins, David Archuleta of "American Idol" fame and the Radio City Rockettes.
The temperature was around 41 degrees. The wind was around 7 mph, well below city guidelines for grounding the balloons. The protocols were established after 45 mph winds drove a Cat in the Hat balloon into a metal pole during the 1997 parade; the accident left a woman in a coma. The balloons were lowered to a maximum of 17 feet on a stormy Thanksgiving Day 2006.
The parade required 200,000 to 300,000 cubic feet of helium, much of which supplier Linde North America intended to recover and recycle, said Nick Haines, the company's helium director for the Americas. Linde tested the process -- sucking the gas out of the balloons, compressing it and later purifying it for resale -- last year and hoped to expand it to all but the giant balloons Thursday.
The parade also provided a coveted yearly spotlight for Broadway productions. This year, cast members of "Hair," "In the Heights," "The Little Mermaid," "South Pacific" and "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" were featured.
The parade began in 1924. It was canceled for two years during World War II. Macy's is marking its 150th anniversary this year.
The parade, which began in 1924 and was canceled for two years during World War II, also provides a coveted yearly spotlight for Broadway productions. This year, cast members of "Hair," ''In the Heights," ''The Little Mermaid," ''South Pacific" and "Irving Berlin's White Christmas" were slated to perform.
In Detroit, thousands braved near-freezing temperatures in hats, mittens and scarves to stake prime spots to view the city's parade, which has been held for more than 80 years.
Harry Vanuden, a 45-year-old Chrysler LLC worker, said he was grateful to still have his job this Thanksgiving. He's among 200 remaining employees at Chrysler's Mack engine plant in Detroit. Two years ago, Vanuden said they numbered 1,500.
"I've been a toolmaker for 26 years," said Vanuden, who lives in the Detroit suburb of Warren. "You hope for the best. I'm just thankful I'm still there."
His 13-year-old daughter Kelsey was excited at the prospect of seeing the Warren Cousino High School marching band, which she hopes to join when she starts at the school next fall.
Kelly Smith, 44, and her husband Tom, 46, brought their 4-year-old daughter Annalise to her first Thanksgiving Day parade.
"We're just happy with what we have, and we're hopeful the economy will rebound," Smith said.
For many Americans, the day promised football games and family dinners with too much food on the table.
The seven Endeavour astronauts and three space station crew members also planned a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but unlike families on Earth, they were poised to float — not sit down — for their feast at the joined space shuttle-international space station complex.
On the menu were smoked turkey that's ready to be heated and freeze-dried green beans and cornbread dressing in need of water injections before they're served.
Some 220 miles below, President George W. Bush was spending Thanksgiving at his Camp David retreat, thankful for his almost-expired "privilege of serving as the president." President-elect Barack Obama was staying in Chicago to "have a whole bunch of people over to the house" and squeeze in some Christmas shopping.
