Every year I watch the parade, and I swear that I just don't feel like my Christmas holiday has started off right until I see the great and all-giving Santa Claus himself wrapping up the festivities.
I don't know what it is about the balloons that still hold a sense of wonder for me, as they have ever since I was a kid. Maybe they are a sort of helium-filled countdown timer for me, ticking away the morning of Thanksgiving day, leading to the official kick-off to th greatest timne of the year. Or maybe I just like giant, floating cartoon characters.
Either way, here are my top 5 favorites from this year...
Sadly, there was no Snoopy in this year's parade, but the inclusion of everyone's favorite blockhead, who is shown determined to finally kick that football, completely made up for it.
When I was 6 years old, I got an amazing stuffed Kermit for Christmas and loved him dearly. Seeing this balloon reminded me of that.
I don't know if any of you out there have read these books, but I have and I loooooooooooove them! Greg Heffley is one of the greatest characters ever written. I'm totally not joking. Congrats to him for making the big time.
I don't care who knows it. I have loved the Smurfs my whole life. Watched the cartoon every Saturday and collected tons of Smurf figurines as a kid. And Papa Smurf is the grand patriarch of it all.
Do I really need to go into why he's on this list? Exceslior!
