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Parade Float Ideas

Fatima Rangwala
Parade floats are created to celebrate a significant occasion. Different parade float ideas have different aspects like the time of year, decorations, colors, themes, music, etc. Here, we will see how parades and parade floats complement each other on different occasions.
Parade floats give us a vision of vibrant colored floats swaying in the air, with marching bands, animals, the funky painted faces of the float riders, and lots of people gathered around to enjoy the occasion.
Parade floats are a perfect way to grab attention for your community, culture, school or any other cause. Parades are extremely colorful, big, and attractive, and at times, the truck that is required to pull the trailer, can be an excellent ride on the parade route.
A complete one day to have fun and frolic! So, be it Christmas, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, or Macy's Day, any celebration without the dazzling parades would lose the magic and charm of that event.
To create parade floats, it can take weeks or even months due to the work one has to submit to. So, here, take a look at certain ideas that are easygoing and sheer merriment to create.

Parade Float Supplies
The parade float supplies would depend on the type, size, and the elaboration of the float design. Supplies like balloons, spray paints, ribbons, etc., are the basic decorations required to build a float. Mainly these floats are created by selecting themes. The pictures, messages, and scenes depicted on the float should suit the overall theme of the parade.
The float is not necessarily be assembled on a flat-surface trailer and pulled by a truck. A wagon, a cart, or a pick-up bed also work fine. A 2-by-4 can be an option as a sturdy frame. Ensure its sturdity by pulling the float as a trial.

Different Parade Float Ideas ...

... for Kids

Kids love floats that have themes and are decorated with their favorite animals or characters from cartoons or movies. Allow the kids to decorate the parade floats with a variety of items or add some arts and crafts made by them.
Kids would feel happy and participative. They could use items, like hand-sketched drawings, streamers, props and cutouts, colorful balloons, or tissue paper flowers taped well to cover the sides of their floats. These activities would liven up their enthusiasm. Coming up with different ideas and themes that excite kids is not an impossible job to deal with.
Every year, there are several children's organizations participating in the parades. They are mostly youth sports teams with a sports theme, or clubs projecting the values of their organization. Many church groups represent a verse, story, or song from the Bible. The merriment in creating the parade floats could provide many happy memories for the kids.

... for a Patriotic Day

Any national holiday coming around the year, and there is a parade celebrating that holiday. Having proper patriotic parade float ideas at hand could pull many themes and aspirations from sources, such as national symbols or cultural history.
In USA, showcasing national symbols on floats, like the American flag, the Statue of Liberty, or the bald eagle would cast out a respectable parade ceremony. Just ensure whatever items you choose, the overall theme showcases the national colors of red, white, and blue.
For color schemes for decorating floats, floral sheeting can be a way to introduce costless golds or metallic silver fringes at the sides of the trailer all the way to covering the wheels. Props are a part of any parade float decorations, like colored balloons, over-sized letters, and battery powered twinkling lights could add some sizzle to the moods.
In case you are planning to lay your float ideas for a cultural or a historical theme, you have to create a design that commemorates a significant event in your country's history. Portray the story in a very simple way so that the story grasps the attention to the unfamiliar crowd too.

... for Banks

Creating a striking, interactive, and an engaging parade float for the field of business or banks is one of the best ways to receive attention from the crowd. There are two to three ideas for banks, like piggy banks or pirate ships.
For a piggy bank theme, the platform should be large enough for the pig model to rest. Create a pink colored pig, draw your business logo on the pig, add a wreath of flowers around its neck. At the center of the body, cut a rectangular slit with a silver coin sticking halfway out of the slit.You can scatter colored coins, chocolate coins, to indicate money.
The pirate ship themes are quite eye-catching and one of the good ways to promote bank businesses. Build a huge pirate ship on the platform and fill it with chests full of jewelry and gold. These accessories can be in the form of painted rocks and cardboard. Put some people on the trailer ship to depict pirates who are sword fighting and controlling cannons.

... When there's Less Time

When there is an issue of time, money, and manpower, the parade floats can be created in the simplest ways. For easy parade floats metal trailers can be an easy way out for attaching decorations, you could work creatively and still live up to the expectations.
If budget and time are the main concern to finish the float, take a creative and a homemade approach by using inexpensive materials. Balloons, streamers, crepe papers, tissue paper flowers folded in a fan style, and floral sheets added at the side of the wagon would add some life to the float.
For instance, a scenario of Santa's workshop can be created using commodities, like a few chairs, a wooden table, many toys, brightly wrapped Santa gifts, and participants dressed in elf costumes. This would depict a Christmas parade scene. Such easy ideas are designed with imaginative levels that catches a viewer's eye.
These were a few of the many ideas that you can use, should you run out of ideas or need a quick parade float idea in a hurry. You can also use your own creativity and design your own float idea, just ensure that it is in line with the occasion.