Woman Recalls Pinch Me Moment In Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade (Exclusive)

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has been a key fixture of every Thanksgiving that

can remember.

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De Cardenas was born and raised in Miami and — “like every other American kid,” she jokes — the parade would play on her family’s TV in the morning as they started firing up the oven for turkey. For her birthday, when she turned 15, her family took a trip to New York City over the Thanksgiving weekend and even got to see the parade in person.

“I don’t even remember where we were in New York, but all of the sudden, we’re like, ‘Oh my God, the parade is going by!’ ” she recalls of the core childhood memory. “It was when I first realized how large the balloons actually are — and to be able to weave in between all of these tall skyscrapers, it was insane.”

Though De Cardenas is now than twice the age she was during that first trip to New York, the 31-year-old is no less awestruck by the iconic American tradition. And last year, for the first time, she actually got to participate in the coveted role of a balloon handler. It was everything she could have ever hoped for, she tells PEOPLE in an interview.

“You do sort of need an in,” she says. Her sister was working for Macy’s as a beauty buyer at the time, and she was able to nab tickets through the company’s lottery for the two of them and their dad.

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“I was super excited,” De Cardenas remembers. “The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — that concept is already crazy enough to think about. And then to realize that you’re going to be there, holding the balloon and making memories for other people, it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, I get to do what everyone else got to do that made those memories really special for me growing up.’ ”

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving weekend, De Cardenas and her family members started to receive emails with information: They learned that they had been assigned to Monkey D. Luffy balloon, that their call time was 6:15 a.m. and that they should dress as warmly and comfortably as possible.

On Thanksgiving, De Cardenas set her alarm for 4:30 a.m., doubled up on layers to brave the freezing rain outside, grabbed a to-go cup of coffee and headed out the door, joining hundreds of other balloon handlers at a meeting point in Midtown Manhattan to get into costume — theirs was a red jumpsuit layered with an oversized bib adorned with a skull and crossbones.

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“People are so excited,” she says. “Everyone is just happy to be there.”

De Cardenas and her fellow balloon handlers then boarded a bus, which took them to their starting point in the parade. They got into position, holding the rope attached to D. Luffy’s feet, and learned the way to properly maneuver the balloon as they walked it down the city’s streets. As they waited for their cue to start walking, they were also getting poured on, but they didn’t mind much.

“We didn’t even care that it was raining. We didn’t care that it was cold,” she says. “We knew that we were part of something that was bigger than us.”

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The parade itself “went by so fast,” continues De Cardenas. She and her family members were stationed in front of the New York Police Department’s marching band, so they had music playing as they paraded through the city. And they even spotted Hoda Kotb and the other NBC anchors working the parade’s live broadcast.

“You get to wave to all of these people who are waiting around for hours, scouting for a good seat,” she says. “Seeing the joy on people’s faces — especially the kids that are there — it’s like, ‘OK, this is why we’re all here and this is why we do it.’ It’s just so special because I was that person 15 years ago trying to catch a glimpse, and here I am creating that same experience for others.”

After about an hour and a half, De Cardenas reached the end of the parade route, and then it was what she described as a “mad dash” to deflate their balloon before the next float reached the end: “We help squish them, get all that air out, roll it up as best we can, and it goes away as fast it blew up.”

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They boarded a bus to head back to Midtown, where they returned their costumes, and then were free to enjoy the rest of their Thanksgivings. De Cardenas, her sister and her dad all took naps when they got home and then helped her mom prepare a Thanksgiving feast to round out the busy holiday.

Though she doesn’t have plans to be a balloon handler this year — her sister no longer works for Macy’s — De Cardenas said that her experience last year certainly gives her a new appreciation for the parade.

“You get to see the logistics of this parade and all these people who take time out of their day just to make us at home,” she says. “It takes a lot to do something like that and keep it as special as it is.”

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Continues De Cardenas: “I think this year, when I watch, I’ll just be like, ‘I can’t believe I did that.’ It’s a pinch-me moment. It’s so cool.”