Jimmy Fallon Reveals His Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Injury and Why It Won’t Stop His Appearance This Year (Exclusive)
This year marks the late night host's 10th time riding on one of the parade's iconic floats
Jimmy Fallon isn't letting anything prevent him from participating in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
After several years of riding on a float with The Roots during the annual parade in New York City, the comedian, 50, says the appearances seem to have taken a toll on his body.
Fallon tells PEOPLE that after noticing pain in his elbow over the past year, he took a trip to the doctor to see what was going on.
“[The doctor] said, ‘I think you have golfer's elbow’ and I was like, ‘There's no way.’ I don't really golf that much — I golf four, five times a year or something — I go, but maybe I think I got it from waving,” Fallon says in an interview about his recent collaboration with Alex Mill and new album Holiday Seasoning.
"I think I got it from the waving on the float," he says of participating in the three-hour parade route.
"I think maybe the Queen [of England] has had this ailment," he jokes, adding, "I'm one of the few people that have wavers elbow, but I've had it for a year and I still have it. It still hurts."
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon host assures it won’t get in the way of his role in this year’s celebration.
“You can't stop me from waving,” he says, adding: “When you see me waving this year, just know that I'm giving 110%.”
Related: Who's Performing at the 2024 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? See the Full Lineup
“You don't even have to wave back,” he continues. “I don't care. It's my job — in fact, I'd rather you not, I don't want this to happen to anyone else.”
Fallon made his first appearance at the parade in 2009 riding Gibson Guitars' float and has since returned eight times on various floats.
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After the parade ends, it's all about family. Fallon says he and his wife Nancy Juvonen host a big meal and the Saturday Night Live alum is on side dish duty.
“My grandmother always liked creamed onions,” he says of the dish he’s cooked in recent years, while admitting they're not "necessarily good.”
“We just go around and whoever will try one, whoever's brave enough, and I just think of my grandma and go, ‘Hey, we're thinking of you,’” he adds.
To help kick off the holiday season this year, Fallon and his family appeared in the new campaign for his P’Jimmies collaboration with Alex Mill. The adorable photos include Fallon, Juvonen, 57, and their daughters Winnie, 11, and Frances, 9, posing in the colorful pajamas he helped create.
“This whole collection is kind of the coolest, coziest thing you've ever seen," Fallons says of the collection, available now.
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade will air on NBC and stream on Peacock.