A look behind the scenes...

In days of past, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon inflation was a neighborhood secret event.  However, thanks to modern social media, this has become a very popular event for visitors as well.  You can get up close to all the balloons from 3:00pm to 10:00pm every Thanksgiving Eve at the Museum of Natural History (there's a subway stop at 81st Street on the C train).