Image Source: New York Daily News BY CARISSA LOETHEN     The winds were low, the balloons were high, and the floats were intricate … And everything went smoothly during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. The parade’s EP told NBC they made sure Sandy victims were remembered at the special American tradition. “This area has really been torn, people are still recovering. There are many that are not going to have a traditional thanksgiving. And we're hoping that today could be a sense of rejuvenated and joy.” She also spoke with KUSA about the specific ways the parade honored Sandy victims. "We've got a float dedicated to the first responders, and each person in the parade is going to be wearing a pin from the Red Cross" HLN Reports New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made the day special for some Sandy families as well. “5,000 Seats at today's macy's thanksgiving day parade are reserved for people who were hardest hit by superstorm sandy.” He joined CBS to talk about how others have chipped in... “We've had over $40 million in gifts from people around the world. Macy's is helping. Macy's is giving away 5,000 tickets to the parade, paying for transportation for people from affected areas to get here. I've talked with people from the state of washington. They've been here, seven of them, helping people clean up their houses.” That’s not all, many volunteers showed up to actually help victims in New York and New Jersey themselves. "A lot of people, several hundred volunteers, not just on Staten Island, but really all over. A number of churches and synagogues reaching out to people today in order to make this Thanksgiving a little better, a little brighter. Specially because when you're trying to piece together your life, Thanksgiving is the last thing on your mind."    This year marked the 86th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving D