Making Dreams Come True

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Making Dreams Come True

Owner Carrie Fullerton moved Glitzy Glam Parties to downtown Harlingen about a year ago.
Owner Carrie Fullerton moved Glitzy Glam Parties to downtown Harlingen about a year ago.

Gliztzy Glam caters to princesses

Every little girl dreams of being a princess. Carrie Fullerton can make that happen.

Fullerton’s business, Glitzy Glam Parties, offers an all-inclusive upscale party planning service with specialty themes for children ages 3 and up. She takes care of all the details, right down to the invitations and clean up.

“I have been doing parties for 17 years and I was an elementary teacher for 15 years,” she said. “I just enjoy the kids a lot and seeing them have fun.”

Fullerton started her business as Little Women Tea Parties in 2000 with the goal of creating the perfect tea party for young girls. Along the way she saw an opportunity to offer other types of parties and changed the company name to Glitzy Glam Parties to reflect a new direction.

A table is set for a Glitzy Glam tea party. (Courtesy)
A table is set for a Glitzy Glam tea party. (Courtesy)

Elegant tea parties are still at the heart of Fullerton’s enterprise. She can organize, plan and take the party to her customers’ homes or other venues. She offers plans for tea parties, birthday parties, spa parties and more. She provides everything from themed dress-up costumes to china tea sets to invitations to food.

“The most popular parties are the princess themes,” she said. Characters from the “Frozen” movies have been among the most popular. But there was a time that Wonder Woman also became a pretty big theme.

Fullerton works closely with parents to make sure every party is a success. “I just keep giving the parents ideas,” she said. “I can tell when they get excited. When I get the exclamation point I know I’ve hit on something they want. It’s not a cookie-cutter process. It’s my job to make the theme fit the daughter and make the mom happy.”

Little girls become princesses for a Glitzy Glam party. (Couresty)
Little girls become princesses for a Glitzy Glam party. (Couresty)

About a year ago Fullerton made a big move by leasing space in downtown Harlingen near the corner of Jackson and Commerce streets that she uses as a venue to host tea parties. She also rents the space so people can bring their own party.

The first Saturday of every month, during Jackson Street Market Days, Fullerton hosts a themed event for youngsters. “On market days I have vendors that pay for a little spot and I do a tea party for the community from 1 to 2:30 in the afternoon,” she said. “I usually change the theme up. ‘Alice in Wonderland’ is the theme for October.” The market days parties cost $15.

More recently she has started doing a themed community event on the last Friday evening of every month, when Downtown Harlingen hosts Art Night. “These events usually feature art classes; something fun for the kids to do while their parents are going down Jackson Street. The kids can have fun and paint without having to worry about making a mess at home.” One event was called “I Like Myself” where children painted self portraits.

Glitzy Glam offers full decorating services for its parties. (Courtesy)
Glitzy Glam offers full decorating services for its parties. (Courtesy)

While Fullerton has concentrated on parties for children to build the business, she has started to branch out to offer more adult gatherings like bridal and baby showers. “I have done more renting for baby showers, where they have rented the space and done their own parties,” she said. “We specialize in elegant tea parties, but welcome all party celebrations as well.”

The always enthusiastic and optimistic Fullerton looks forward to experimenting with new ideas and expanding the business as she heads into the fall party season. “Summers are always a little slow but I am booking parties,” she said. “I have parties in October and during the holidays. And I have a friend who is going to do painting parties.”

Fullerton said she has never had a complaint in 17 years of producing parties. “I like being paid to be social. God has blessed my socks off.”

George Cox is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years experience as a newspaper writer and editor. A Corpus Christi native, he started his career as a reporter for The Brownsville Herald after graduating from Sam Houston State University with a degree in journalism. He later worked on newspapers in Laredo and Corpus Christi as well as northern California. George returned to the Valley in 1996 as editor of The Brownsville Herald and in 2001 moved to Harlingen as editor of the Valley Morning Star. He also held the position of editor and general manager for the Coastal Current, a weekly entertainment magazine with Valleywide distribution. George retired from full-time journalism in 2015 to work as a freelance writer and legal document editor. He continues to live in Harlingen where he and his wife Katherine co-founded Rio Grande Valley Therapy Pets, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising public awareness of the benefits of therapy pets and assisting people and their pets to become registered therapy pet teams.

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