by Chris Dixon

Created on: February 28, 2010

When it comes to Christmas parade floats, there are as many unique options as there are days in the holiday season. When we think of floats in a parade, visions of the Macy's day parade may be what first comes to mind. However, most community parades are much more modest than that, and also have a substantially smaller budget. The first thing you need to do though is revisit your experiences with both parades and Christmas and have a good brainstorming session. When I think of Christmas I think of the real reason for the season, which is to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. I see a manger and baby doll baby Jesus all aglow. I see Mary and Joseph holding baby Jesus beneath a northern star.  I see children dressed as barn animals gathered all around them. The nativity could be fashioned on the trailer and secured as just a primitive shelter and hay bales for them to sit on. The three wise men could follow behind the float on foot.

If you want something less religious, then I think about little children and overflowing stockings, Christmas trees and presents beneath. All on a long flatbed trailer. You will be moving slowly but still may want  to affix some type of rail to the trailer to make everyone feel safe and you will need to secure everything well as far as props and builds. Especially if you have small children or older folks riding on the float. You could hang stockings from the rail that hold candy for you to throw to the crowd. You may want to have walkers hand out candy canes too.

When creating a float for a parade, the first thing you will need is a good sized trailer. This will be the base of your float, so it needs to be in decent shape. It will also need to be safe and level. This is the foundation of your whole float so make sure it's appropriate for the cargo it's carrying. You may not want people to ride on the float at all. Maybe you have animated Chistmas decorations and lights and props which you plan to attach to the trailer,  while people walk alongside it handing out flyers related to your church, group or even business. This could be a good way to drum up sponsorship and donations to build the grand endeaver, if you offer to hand out flyers with sponsors company logos on them. These flyers might also contain information about your next big community project or charitable event or perhaps even a religious

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