Macy’s department store in New York celebrated its 90th Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday, and spectators turned out in big numbers in the city to watch the giant balloons being inflated on Wednesday afternoon.

The Hello Kitty float flies high above Sixth Avenue during Macy's 90th Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City on Thursday, November 24, 2016.

“We have got a load of surprises for you. Now some of them I can tell you about, like we’ve recreated one of the first character balloons, Felix the Cat, that debuted in 1927, that was the first year that we actually had balloons in the parade, we’ve recreated it exactly the same, same size, same scale, same design. And back then, it was carried on poles, so we’ve rigged it to be carried on poles for this parade, too,” said John Piper, vice presdient of Macy’s Parade Studio.

“We’re doing a lot of looking back, but we’ve also got some surprises, a lot of new stuff, some wonderful floats, with great animation.”

This year’s parade will also feature new balloons, such as “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” and “Trolls.” The three-hour parade will begin at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, and millions who can't see it in person will be able to watch the event on television.

With that kicking off a joyful note of the holiday season, U.S. retailers are ready to welcome higher holiday sales this year both online and in bricks-and-mortar stores.