Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade adds Elf on the Shelf

A Macy’s representative said the order of balloons isn’t determined until the night before the parade, but hinted that since the parade begins with Thanksgiving and ends with Christmas, the Elf on the Shelf balloon will be toward the end.

New feature

Macy’s has a free Thanksgiving Day Parade app for iOS and Android devices that will allow viewers to interact with the march in real time. The parade lineup also will be available exclusively on the app beginning Thanksgiving morning. Fans can download it from the iTunes App Store or from Google Play.

In her mind, Chanda Bell can still see the moment that the bold idea struck. She was sitting around a table with her mom, Carol Aebersold, and her twin sister, Christa Pitts, having what she calls a “pie in the sky, big dreams” conversation about ways to make their book “The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition” as successful as possible.

“I remember saying specifically, ‘If we could just get a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade!’ ” said Bell, 38, “but we had no idea what it would take to make that happen.”

By the time the parade takes off in New York City on Thanksgiving morning, Bell and her family will know exactly what it takes to make such a dream come true. That’s when a 46-foot-tall inflatable version of their elf floats above the crowds, one of just three new balloons of the 40 to appear in the parade.

For Bell, who lives in Snellville, getting an elf balloon is even more exciting than last year, when an animated TV special about the character aired on CBS.

“The balloons are all icons of characters, so to be included in that group is just phenomenal,” she said.

The balloon is the result of dogged determination by Elf marketing manager Charlsie Niemiec, who first reached out to Macy’s in January. Getting through to the right person involved leaving voice mails, sending emails and finally mailing old-fashioned letters to get an answer.

“Finally, they emailed us back and set up a 30-minute phone call,” Niemiec said. “We learned that it usually takes a year or more to even be considered. We put together a presentation and sent it out with fingers crossed, and about a week and a half later, we found out we would be in the parade.”

With its growing popularity and holiday wholesomeness, Elf on the Shelf was a natural fit for the parade, said Orlando Veras, a Macy’s spokesman. “Macy’s balloons are based on iconic elements, and the Elf on the Shelf is popular in American culture and a great character for the parade.”

Being part of the parade is just the latest feat accomplished by the company run by a mother and daughters who came up with the idea seven years ago. They wanted to share their own holiday tradition of an elf who reports back to Santa about each child’s behavior.

“It was the result of a case of empty nest syndrome,” Aebersold said with a laugh. “I was telling Chanda about it one day when she looked up and saw my little elf I’ve had since I was a kid, and she said we should share that tradition. It took about six months to write and a few more to get it illustrated, and even though we found an agent right away, we never found a publisher. So we decided to do it ourselves, and we are still self-publishing.”

Since its debut, the book has sold more than 2.5 million copies, all produced and distributed from a workshop in Marietta, close to the Acworth home of Aebersold and her husband, Bob. During the holiday season, more than 50 employees will fill orders for the book, plush toys and figurines.

“We still do all our own sales, marketing, warehousing, distribution and product development,” Aebersold said. “But I let the two girls run everything now; I just go out and greet people.”

The family had no idea that such a simple children’s story would turn into a thriving enterprise, Bell said.

“There was no impetus for us to start a business; the idea was to create special family moments,” she said. “And being part of the Macy’s parade is really the coolest moment.”

Over the summer, the family met with designers hired by Macy’s to create a model of the elf balloon. Two weeks ago, they attended a trial run where they got to see the inflatable up close. For the parade, the elf will be towed by members of the family.

“When I got to touch it and hold the rope, well, it was the most memorable day of my life, and I’ve had many,” Aebersold said. “It really is breathtaking.”