You're watching this year's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade because that's what you're supposed to do while mom and dad cook, and football hasn't started yet. The floats are a bit unspectacular this year, so we've gone into the archives and assembled our own parade from years past.

This might be our favorite Snoopy float ever. In 1999, in anticipation of Y2K and the new Millenium and all that jazz, Snoopy a special makeover: 

This is the Snoopy we're used to seeing.

In 2004, there was an Ask Jeeves float (!)

Arthur the Aardvark made his debut in 1997, and that's Ms. Petula Pig in the foreground ahead of him. 

1997 was a good year for new children's cartoon balloons. Along with Arthur the Aardvark, Tommy, Chucky and their dog Spike from Nickelodeon's Rugrats made their parade debut. Also, a Swedish cow named Bumpe. 

Izzy, one of the mascots for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, made his parade debut in 1993. 

The Honey Nut Cheerios Bee made its debut in 1999, behind the "senior" Garfield float. That's one old looking cat. 

Goofy made a big splash in 1992 dressed up like Santa in his first Thanksgiving Day parade.

Bart Simpson did a kickflip over Broadway for the first time all the way back in 1990. Do you feel old yet? 

Pikachu, now a parade staple, first appeared in 2001. Back when there was still a reasonable amount of Pokemon and catching them all was a conceivable goal and not the equivalent of getting a college degree. 

After a thirteen year hiatus, Rocky and Bullwinkle made their triumphant return to the Macy's parade in 1996 to promote their cool movie with Robert De Niro that came out a few years later. (We're ashamed to admit we saw that in theaters.) 

Tim Burton made a weird thing that's very Burton-y for last year's parade. It's not even for a movie. It's a just a thing he made for the parade. Happy Thanksgiving, Tim Burton. You're weird. 

Takashi Murakami designed these... things for the 2010 parade. 

This shot of a Ronald MacDonald balloon from centuries ago 1989 is pretty great. 

The last time Charlie Brown and his football appeared in the parade was in 2005. He returned to the parade this year, finally, because someone realized how dumb it is to have the parade without him.

Popeye was a popular parade float in 1959, and he would be today, too, if he was still in it. 

And this is what the parade looked like in 1930. We have no idea what any of the floats are. 

This Superman float makes his way through a 1940's Times Square. 

And no Macy's parade is complete without Buzz Lightyear! Like this one from 2011.

Or this Super Grover!

[All images via the AP]

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