Millions of people braved a frigid day and lined the streets of Manhattan to witness the 87th annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The parade's trademark balloons almost didn't fly due to windy weather in the New York-area caused by the remnants of Winter Storm Boreas. According to city rules, the giant balloons can't fly if sustained winds exceed 23 mph, or gusts exceed 34 mph and meteorologists predicted winds between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts of up to 35 mph. Despite the wind, the 16 large balloons were cleared for take off this morning, but kept on a tighter leash that usual with a police sergeant assigned to every inflatable.The day was mostly a success except for when two balloons got snagged on Central Park trees early on in the parade. Sonic the Hedgehog had to be cut away from the trees, while the Spider-man balloon was torn open.'It hit a tree branch. It was his left arm. And it put a big old hole in it,' 44-year-old Arlington,Virginia native Liam Rice told the New York Daily News. 'His left arm is definitely going to need some repair.' One of the balloons also sent a handler to the hospital. The cart driving the Buzz Lightyear balloon ran over the foot of 39-year-old Keri O'Connell at around 10:30am. 'He ran over her foot!' her aunt, 48-year-old Cathy Zanella, told the Daily News. 'She was yelling, "You ran me over! Back up! Back Up!" She couldn't get out she was crying.'Ms Zanella said the driver 'didn't know what he was doing' and couldn't even find the reverse when she started screaming. Ms O'Connell was treated for a minor foot injury at Roosevelt Hospital.But most of the spectators were just happy the parade went on as usual, since many of them make the early morning trek into Manhattan for the parade each year. 'I’ve been coming to this parade since I was born,' Bronx-resident Sarah Baglio told CBS New York. 'It’s my favorite holiday, and my favorite day of the year to bring the kids to the parade.'Anthony D'Attoma, 17, takes the train in every year from his home on Long Island to watch the parade. 'It's a different experience just watching it live!' D'Attoma told the New York Daily News while wearing a stuffed turkey hat to match his Dad. 'It's a tradition. When we get home, the food is almost ready.'The rules concerning winds were put in place after an incident in 1997 when 43 mph winds caused the Cat in the Hat balloon to hit a lamppost, which led to a piece of metal hitting a woman's head and nearly killing her. The parade has only been cancelled once in its 87-year history, due to bad weather in 1971.But the parade organizers announced Thanksgiving morning that the balloons would indeed fly.'We thought they'd find a way to pull it off,' John Mispagel, of San Jose, California told WABC. 'It's really fun seeing so many people having such a great time.'According to the parade's executive producer, Amy Kule, about 3.5million spectators were expected to turn out along the parade route in New York with another 50million watching at home. In addition to numerous floats, about 900 clowns and 40 smaller balloons took part in the parade. According to CBS, the crowd at 76th street was five people deep.All 16 of the large balloons in the parade were inflated last night on W 77th Street near the Museum of Natural History.'I think it's really cool how big they are,' Carson Kelley, a young tourist, told CBS New York. 'They're like, as big as my house.' Some of the balloons are probably much bigger than Carson's house - as tall as five stories. The parade started there today before heading south and continuing down Sixth Avenue before ending outside the Macy's store on 34th Street in Herald Square. As usual, the parade was closed out by the appearance of Santa Claus starting the Christmas holiday season. Santa has closed out the parade every year except 1933, when he led the parade. This was the second year that the parade took this route. Normally, viewers at home are used to seeing the balloons make their way through Times Square, but that changed last year.NBC has been broadcasting the event since 1952, but moved the parade out of Times Square last year so that it would bypass rival CBS' studios.Spectators and viewers at home will be seeing three completely new balloons this year: a Wizard of Oz balloon to mark the 75th anniversary of the film, a Finn and Jake balloon for the Cartoon Network show and the Toothless Dragon from How to Train Your Dragon. New versions of the Snoopy and Woodstock and SpongeBob Squarepants balloons will also be making their parade debut. Snoopy has flown in more parades than any other balloon.And since Thanksgiving corresponds with the beginning of Hannukah this year, there will be two 'ballonicles' in the parade to mark the Jewish festival of light. Ballonicles are self-powered balloon vehicles which have been used in the parade since 1991. The two new ballonicles are a spinning-top dreidel and gelt - the chocolate coins given to Jewish children on the holiday. In addition to the balloons, the parade will also feature live performances from high school marching bands, performing artists and Broadway shows.This year's featured Broadway shows include the casts of Matilda, Motown, Pippin and Kinky Boots.Performers such as Carrie Underwood, Gavin DeGraw, the cast of Sesame Street, and Miss America Nina Davuluri were a few of the celebrities on the floats today.  The parade has been a New York City tradition since 1924 when the Bramberger's store parade in Newark, New Jersey was transferred to Manhattan by Macy's department store. Many of the Macy's store employees were first-generation immigrants and wanted to celebrate their heritage with a festival similar to what they remembered from Europe.Balloons became a part of the parade's tradition in 1927 with the induction of the Felix the Cat balloon. In the first year, Felix was filled with air, but the next year was filled with helium. There were no parades between 1942 and 1944 due to World War II as helium and rubber needed to be used in the war effort.  Probably a good decision considering Macy's is currently the second largest consumer of helium behind the US government. The annual parade took up again in 1945 with a route that remained the same until 2008. Until 1947 the parade was a largely local affair, but it became known nationwide with the 1947 film Miracle on 34th Street. It was also the first year the parade was televised. Now its one of the most watched television events across the nation. (dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az