Busy Philipps, Darren Criss and Mickey Guyton at Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade kicked off on Thursday morning in New York City at about 8 am to a crowd of almost three million people.

And there were plenty celebrities on hand to take in the 15 giant character balloons, 28 floats, 36 novelty and heritage inflatables, more than 800 clowns, 10 marching bands and nine performance groups.

Busy Philipps, Darren Criss, Nelly, Mickey Guyton, Girls5Eva star Renee Elise Goldsberry, Sara Bareilles and Kelly Rowland were all dressed up in their winter clothes to enjoy the 95th annual event.

Busy wore a bright pink leotard with a cowl neck. She also had on the Pastel Latte Mixed Jewel Ear Warmer ($125) and the Pastel Latte Mixed Jewel Fingerless gloves ($95) from Lele Sadoughi.

The beauty added a pink and brown plaid coat well as black chunky boots with light pink socks. 

The Cougar Town actress wore her blonde hair down in soft curls as she was heavily made up with pink lipstick and shadow.

Darren was dapper in a dark blue coat and a scarlet red scarf. The 34-year-old San Francisco native, who is best known for his hit TV series Glee, was seen on a float as he waved to the crowd.

Sara Bareilles wore a brown cable sweater under a beige and black plaid coat as she added point caramel colored short boots. The singer from Eureka, California added a chocolate brown beanie cap.

Kelly looked ready for Christmas in an emerald green coat with her hair worn down.

Mickey was ready for her closeup in an electric purple wool coat with a black buckled belt. The singer had a matching purple top and slacks underneath as well as pointy boots. She wore her long hair down as it touched her hips. 

And rapper Nelly had on a puffy blue and red down jacket over a red top as he added a baseball cap.   

Carrie Underwood was seen in a red outfit as she was shown in a winter wonderland with snow on the ground.

Also scheduled to be there: Jimmie Allen, Rob Thomas, Kristin Chenoweth, Foreigner, Andy Grammer, Chris Lane, Miss America Camille Schrier, Muppets from Sesame Street.

There were also the three past and current hosts of Blue’s Clues – Steve Burns, Donovan Patton and Josh De la Cruz. 

The South Korean K-Pop group Aespa also joined in the festivities as one of the new acts. 

The event returned to its pre-pandemic glory. Overall, about 6,500 performers are featured in this year’s celebration.

‘For our 95th celebration, Macy’s has created a spectacle to remember featuring a dazzling array of high-flying balloons, animated floats and incredible performers,’ Will Coss, the executive producer of the parade, said in a statement.’ 

This year’s upcoming parade comes after the downsizing of last year’s which had cut thousands of participants, limited the route to one block, and of course requested spectators to watch the anticipated holiday tradition solely on their television screens. 

Orlando Veras, a Macy’s spokesman, told CNN that about 2.5 million people came out in person this year to watch the parade. ‘We’re so thrilled to be back,’ he said. 

New balloon giants joining the line-up.

They include Ada Twist, Scientist; the pint-sized hero from ‘The Mandalorian’ and the Pokémon characters Pikachu and Eevee on a sled.

Snoopy was among the many mainstays of the parade, appearing in his NASA suit as the longest-running character to appear at the Thanksgiving Day Parade.    

Some of the returning balloons are ‘The Boss Baby,’ ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid,’ Chase from ‘Paw Patrol,’ the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald McDonald, Red Titan from ‘Ryan’s World,’ Papa Smurf, Sonic the Hedgehog and SpongeBob SquarePants. 

As in years past, the New York Police Department blocked off all vehicle access points to the parade route with sand-filled garbage trucks, other heavy vehicles and approximately 360,000 pounds of concrete barriers.

Thousands of officers are assigned to the parade route, including counterterrorism teams.

Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said there were no specific, credible threats to the parade.

Among the favorites of the morning was the much anticipated Baby Yoda balloon, who was shortly followed by a procession of Storm Troopers from the popular Star Wars franchise.

Jon Batiste performed a top an alligator-themed float, Celebration Gator, celebrating Louisiana’s music, food and culture. The float was one of the longest in the parade’s 95-year history. 

Big Bird, Elmo and the rest of the Sesame Street gang also made an appearance on their themed float as they waved to spectators on the streets. 

Other mainstays at the parade who made an appearance was Papa Smurf and the Pillsbury Doughboy. Goku, from the popular Dragon Ball series remained among the 15 character balloons after first appearing in 2018. 

Sonic the Hedgehog, the beloved video game character, also appeared overhead to greet New York City. 

Among the nine performance groups at the parade were Ballet Hispanico, the Big Apple Circus, Jumpers United for Macy’s Parade, Spirit of America Dance Stars and Spirit of America Cheer. 

The floats included were Peacock’s Birds of a Feather Stream Together, Louisiana’s Celebration Gator, Kalahari Resorts’ Colossal Wave of Wonder, Disney Cruise’s Magic Meets the Sea and McDonald’s Big Red Shoe Car.    

The White House released a photo of the call, providing the first glimpse of the private 13,000 square feet home owned by David Rubenstein the Biden clan is staying in.

The photo showed the first couple sitting together on a love seat in a sunny living room, a giant big screen TV in front of them with Al Roker and the parade playing.

This morning, the President and the First Lady called Al Roker while watching NBC Today’s 95th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade with their family, the White House said in a statement.

‘My message is after two years, we’re back, America is back, there’s nothing we’re unable to overcome, Al, you’re one of the reasons for that, pal. You’re always up, always rooting,’ Biden said on the call, which played out live on NBC’s broadcast.