Macy's Parade Charm Bracelet

I confess that I am partial to charm bracelets.  First, they have an interesting history, and second, they are essentially portable miniatures.  I have a small collection of  Cracker Jack charms which I've used in various miniature settings.

My mother likes charm bracelets also, and I decided to make her one for Christmas.  (By "make" I  mean assemble pieces that other people have made.  If you have read my blog, you may be noticing a pattern.)

My parents moved to Manhattan when they retired.  Their apartment is on 6th Avenue between 56th and 57th Streets, which means on Thanksgiving they have an angled view of the Macy's parade.   Our new Thanksgiving tradition includes watching the parade from their apartment.

So for my mother's bracelet, I thought it would be fun to use a Macy's Parade theme. Since I am not a jeweler, I opted for the European style bracelet which is easy to construct with slide-on beads. The European charms are also rounder and appear more balloon-like.  I found the charms on eBay and Etsy, so I am not entirely sure of their origins -  but I will label the ones that I know.

1) Pillsbury Doughboy - This was the first charm that I searched for.  I found a pendant from the 1980s and attached it to a bead that was compatible with the European bracelets.  (I found both the converter bead and jump ring on Etsy.)

2) Charlie Brown - This bead is made by Persona, and looks almost exactly like the balloon.

3) Macy's Star

4) Marching Band - This is an English toy soldier bead by Pandora.

5) Macy's Elf 

 6) Santa 

7) Mickey Mouse -  This is one of the Pandora Disney charms.

I also found letter beads to spell out "Macy's," and clips that looked like marching band drums.  The full bracelet is below.