Even the Thanksgiving parade can’t get away from the taxman. Previously located in Hoboken, New Jersey, the Macy’s Parade Studio completed work on its new Moonachie, New Jersey, home in 2011.

The 72,000-square-foot, $6.9 million building is nearly double the size of its previous 40,000-square-foot facility. A tremendous amount of space is needed to house each parade float, balloon, costume and accessory and still have room for employees. Large facilities come with considerable expenses, which can explain the sky-high property tax bill of $138,573.

Annual costs for parade float supplies, float decorations, property taxes and staff salaries typically total $2.7 million to $4.5 million. The sheer magnitude of the Macy’s parade is overwhelming, and so are the assets associated with the event.

Macy’s also has its own studio space and a massive supply of costumes to prepare for the parade. These assets are worth $8.9 million during a normal year. Combined annual expenses and assets alone can push above $13 million some years.

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Inflating balloons that can stretch up to five or six stories high is seriously expensive. Each balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade uses 300,000 to 700,000 cubic feet of helium. Filling every balloon costs a minimum of $510,000.

Each helium-filled giant requires 50 to 90 volunteer handlers, but sometimes that still isn’t enough to prevent them from going astray. In 1997, winds up to 43 mph damaged several balloons — including Barney, The Pink Panther, Quik Bunny and the Cat in the Hat, forcing them to exit the parade route early.

That shouldn’t be a problem this year. The 2020 version of the parade will feature significantly fewer balloon handlers. Instead, special utility vehicles will be used to escort the balloons down the parade route.

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Companies sponsoring brand new balloons pay a construction and parade fee of $190,000. The cost might be high, but advertising at the Thanksgiving parade is a huge marketing opportunity, and there’s no shortage of businesses willing to shell out the cash.

Some of the new balloons set to debut at the 2020 parade include Red Titan from the YouTube hit “Ryan’s World” and the Boss Baby from the upcoming film “The Boss Baby 2: Family Business.”

Sponsoring a balloon in the Macy’s parade is a big investment, so many sponsors opt to participate for several years. In these cases a new balloon doesn’t need to be constructed, so the fee drops to $90,000.

Several balloons will be returning for the 2020 parade, including the Pillsbury Doughboy, SpongeBob SquarePants and Sinclair’s Dino.

Snoopy will also be back, outfitted as an astronaut. Astronaut Snoopy is the eighth version of the classic comic character to participate in the annual event, marking his 41st Macy’s Thanksgiving parade appearance — more than any other balloon.

You won’t find your average parade floats in the Macy’s event — those on display here can take four to nine months to get from concept to completion. In 2020, a total of 25 extravagant floats will be in the parade, featuring themes like Central Park, Mount Rushmore and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Average construction costs typically range from $30,000 to $100,000 per float.

Parade float supply costs add up fast, especially since a single float can contain 100 to 200 pounds of glitter. One of this year’s floats — Heartwarming Holiday Countdown by the Hallmark Channel — is several stories tall and features a 3-D Christmas calendar.

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The perfect parade float doesn’t just boast beautiful construction. About 700 elaborate costumes are designed in a normal year to bring parade float ideas to life. Costumes currently in storage are valued at $2 million. Balloon handlers wear jumpsuits, but those riding on floats are provided with custom-made garments, according to Business Insider.

On a typical Thanksgiving Day, 200 costume fitters are on-site to help participants into their outfits. When the parade is over, costumes are packed into 10 trucks and sent back to the warehouse. Due to the pandemic, there will likely be both far fewer costume fitters and costumes on site in 2020.

Broadway shows vie for the chance to step into the national spotlight and perform in the Macy’s parade. The exposure has boosted advance ticket sales by roughly $300,000 in the past. Of course, Broadway has been closed since March 12, and will remain shuttered until at least May 30, 2021, according to the Playbill website. So only time will tell if this year’s performances will impact future ticket sales.

The casts of Broadway’s “Jagged Little Pill,” “Hamilton,” “Mean Girls” and “Ain’t Too Proud” will perform in 2020, along with the Radio City Rockettes. Like most things this year, there will be changes to the format. Instead of performing live, the casts will pre-tape their performances, which will be broadcast during the parade.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving parade wouldn’t be complete without its fancy floats, but these roving works of art don’t come cheap. Most cost $780,000 to $2.6 million. Beyond the decorations and supplies, considerable manpower is required to build the floats.

Each parade float must be collapsed to a width of no more than 8.5 feet to get it through the Lincoln Tunnel, which is part of its journey from the studio in New Jersey to New York City. The floats are reconstructed from midnight to 8 a.m. the morning of the parade.

Despite taking place just once a year on Thanksgiving Day, the Macy’s parade is an enormous undertaking that requires a full-time staff of 26 employees. Temporary staffers are hired during the busy fall months, bringing the total employee count to roughly 40 — at least in a normal year. Combined salaries usually total about $1.3 million.

The Macy’s parade team includes painters, sculptors, carpenters, construction workers, metal workers and more. Employees start working long hours — including weekends — in September to make sure all preparations are in place for the big day.

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For marching bands, it’s quite an honor to be selected to perform in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. The application process requires careful planning, as materials must be submitted nearly two years before the desired performance date.

Only 12 supremely talented marching bands are selected each year. However, all high school and college marching bands originally chosen to perform in the 2020 Macy’s Parade have been deferred to next year. This decision was made to keep participants safe amid the pandemic.

Instead, New York tri-state area professional marching and musical ensembles will perform. Some of the groups include the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps Marching Band, the NYPD marching band and the West Point Band.

Around 50 million viewers tune into the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade from home each year. Another 3.5 million revelers usually head to the streets of New York City to watch the parade in person — but not this year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Putting these numbers into perspective, Game 6 of the 2020 World Series attracted 14.3 million viewers.

Putting on an event as large as the Macy’s parade requires a tremendous amount of assistance. A total of 10,000 people work together to make it a success — at least, during a normal year — including Macy’s employees who volunteer their time to the parade.

From the artists who create the enormous helium balloons to the people who work all night to assemble the floats after they arrive in Manhattan, this is a major team effort. It’s probably safe to assume things get a little hectic at crunch time, but viewers never know it.

Many people wouldn’t consider offering to work on Thanksgiving morning. However, more than 4,000 Macy’s employees from across the Northeast volunteer their time to the parade most years. Staffers serve in a wide variety of roles, including balloon handlers and balloon pilots.

Despite the sheer volume of volunteers, each person is assigned a costume to wear during the parade. Operations are so well organized that each volunteer can get dressed and ready within a two-hour window.

Considering roughly 10,000 people march in the Macy’s parade in a typical year, it might seem easy to join in the fun, but it’s not. Since this Thanksgiving tradition launched in 1924, participation has been limited to Macy’s employees, their families and those with relationships to sponsors or others affiliated with the event.

Performing talent is the only exception to the rule. There are no reserved tickets available to purchase for the grandstand seating area, so arrive early if you want to stake out a good spot — in 2021, that is.

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