What are the parade balloons made of

Balloons were introduced in 1927, three years after the inaugural parade, and featuredcartoon animal characters to replace the live zoo animals. Initially, the balloons were air-filled and carried by string. Later, a mixture of low-density helium and air was used. This enabled parade designers to create large-proportion balloons like a 50-foot hummingbird .

Today, in a former Tootsie Roll factory in Hoboken, N.J., just across the river from New York City, the balloons are created by the Macy's Parade Studio. Depending on what's being depicted, a figure may be fashioned vertically, horizontally or somewhere in between.