Teen's Viral 'Beetlejuice'-Themed Quinceañera Came Together in Just 2 Weeks, Thanks to Devoted Dad (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Meryl posing with Beetlejuice (left), Meryl and dad Jerry dancing together.Photo:Courtesy of Jerry Nolasco; merylarts/TikTok

Courtesy of Jerry Nolasco; merylarts/TikTok

A young lady celebrating a special birthday had a night she’ll never forget.

“I told her we could either go to Tokyo and have fun for two weeks, just the two of us, or we could have an eight-hour party,” Jerry tells PEOPLE.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Japan but I feel like there’s always a next time,” Meryl explains. “You only get to turn 15 and have a quinceañera once, so I decided to go with this. I don’t regret it because it just came out so cool.”

Meryl wasn’t sure about a theme at first, but once she zeroed in, the details started coming together, making for an amazing and special day.

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“When we were figuring out the theme, I originally wanted a black dress. I was going to do a Ghostface theme, but then I considered a red dress. Red is my favorite color, and my stepmom suggested Beetlejuice,” Meryl recalls. “I love Tim Burton films and felt like there was so much to work with, so we ended up going further with that plan.”

Making it all happen with just two weeks until the party wasn’t ideal for the family, but they managed to get it done with a lot of hard work.

“At first, I’ll be honest — it was a huge mess. The timing wasn’t what we thought it would be and I had to learn my surprise dance while everyone else party-planned over the winter break,” Meryl says. “We had a budget that wasn’t huge, but it was good and we were able to do a lot.”

Meryl poses in her quinceanera look.Courtesy of Jerry Nolasco

Courtesy of Jerry Nolasco

“I’m really happy and very proud that I was able to do this for my daughter. It took a lot,” Jerry says. “I actually had to drive a U-Haul to pick up some of the props my friend has in his museum to display them at her party, and we did all that a night before. We checked the entire U-Haul out a night before, woke up super early.”

Dad wasn’t alone. He is grateful that they had “a lot of friends and core members of our community who helped out a lot.”

“My friend is a special effects artist, so I got her to do Meryl’s hair just like the girl in the movie. It was little details like that that I feel like made the event stand out.,” he shares. “A few others took care of her cake and the little treats that went along with it. It was such a blur in my mind putting everything together, but in the end it came together so perfectly.”

Meryl’s Beetlejuice dais.merylarts/TikTok

merylarts/TikTok

While Meryl underwent her transformation, her dad was “running around,” picking up props and getting together food and refreshments.

“We had over 200 people there. We overinvited a little and some people brought their whole family instead of a plus one, so that was a little difficult,” Meryl notes, applauding her dad’s ability to keep up with the changes as the day unfolded.

When it came to photos, “We didn’t end up getting a photographer but at the church, there was a guy taking pictures and I hired him the same day.

“We have some videos, but only ones that people took on their phones. We also had disposable cameras on every table, so everyone took pictures on that,” Meryl adds. “We haven’t gotten them developed yet but we’re excited to.”

Meryl’s Beetlejuice-themed photos.Courtesy of Jerry Nolasco

The limited photos and videos of the day make it that much more amazing that what Meryl did share went viral.

Meryl appreciated how positive everyone’s commentary on her special day was.

Meryl’s table details.merylarts/TikTok

The buzz also came as a surprise to the hardworking dad who made it all possible.

“It’s pretty cool to have so much attention on it, especially because we didn’t put a huge focus on photography and didn’t have videography. We were like, ‘You know what? Let’s do this old school and just have the memories in our heads,’ " he says.

“I think that’s what makes it even more special that it became a viral thing. So many people commented like, ‘I wish I was there,’ because in what does exist, you can tell we were in the moment.”

For the birthday girl, the best parts of the night were the moments she shared with her loved ones.

“I would say the Valz and my Wednesday dance, as well as the dance with my parents, were really special. All the dances were the main highlight for me,” she says.

Meryl’s Beetlejuice dance.merylarts/TikTok

“And I really enjoyed the In-N-Out truck.”

It’s also been fun for Jerry, who’s proud to get recognition as Meryl’s dad.

“I was recently at a tattoo convention and I met someone who couldn’t believe I was the dad of the girl in the Beetlejuice quinceañera TikTok. A quinceañera magazine even reached out about wanting to put Meryl on the cover and having her appear at a convention,” he shares. “We didn’t even know that was a thing, so it’s really exciting and we’re excited to find out more about that.”

source: people.com