In celebration of the 20^th anniversary of Harry Potter this year, we threw Hobbes a Harry Potter-themed birthday party last week.

This was actually a belated celebration since his birthday – okay, gotcha day – was on the 18^th, and on that day, we were on a week-long vacation to celebrate his actual gotcha day.

This was his 4th birthday invitation sans the venue and my contact number.

My friends are all used to Hobbes’s smiling face, so they again complimented him for his poses when they saw the invitation.

On the day of our lunch celebration, I had the cake delivered an hour early, so we had time to do our shoot. Here are my favorite cake photos of Hobbes.

The cake was from Chedz, one of Cebu’s most popular cake stores, and I got the inspiration for his cake from Pinterest.

In the past years, I used to order a specialty dog cake from Bubbabakes, but I noticed that Hobbes only took a bite that I ended up throwing the cake, so this time, I ordered a cake for his hooman invitees.  We loved the cake as it was not too sweet, though it stained our teeth and lips because of its color.

The décor was simple and consisted merely of gifts and balloons as I didn’t have enough time to do the preparations.

Here’s Hobbes surveying the venue while patiently waiting for his guests. 

And here’s a close-up shot of Hobbes against some of the gifts.

In case anyone is wondering, I chose the design for his bandana online and had it made by Life is Pawsome Shop.

As for the food, I also ordered everything online.  We had Crispy Pata, Sisig, Lumpiang Shanghai, Buttered Shrimps, Flavored Chicken Wings, Mango Float, and Mini Cupcakes. 

Except for the cupcakes that came with the cake, everything was from Cha’Tasty Kitchen.  Our guests loved all the dishes, especially the Sisig, Buffalo Chicken Wings, and Mango Float.  I really recommend this catering company as they are very accommodating.  The food selection was varied, and the dishes were reasonably-priced and tasted good.  To order, visit their official Facebook page.

When most guests had left by 5 PM, we opened Hobbes’s gifts, which consisted mostly of treats and pet essentials. (A friend was hesitant to open the gifts as she felt they were wrapped too nicely. Ha ha!)

Here’s Hobbes looking all tired that he chose to chill under the table. 

 Still looking swell despite your weariness, Hobbes!

This luncheon was actually the finale of Hobbes’s birthday celebration because, as mentioned, we were on vacation the week before.

Our first stop was to Oslob’s Down South 118 Beach Resort. 

We were here 2 nights mostly to just chill and dine and watch sunrises and sunsets. 

Next, we visited Paraiso Tropicale – Beach Cabin, still in Oslob; this was my favorite destination during this trip.  Here, we had the whole beach and cabin to ourselves for 2 nights and 3 days. 

Paraiso Tropicale is not just a beach as before reaching the main cabin, one had to navigate through about 80 wooden stairs. Here’s another photo of Hobbes in one of the stair’s landing areas.

Our last stop was to Alcoy, specifically to Mangrove Eco Resort and Restaurant.

We had another 2-night stay here; this served the best food among the 3 restaurants.

I’ll just write about each of these resorts in detail in my upcoming posts.

To end this blog, I’ll share snapshots from our Harry Potter-themed photo shoot prior to our week-long trip.

Most of his props, like the scarf, Hogwarts robe, and hat, were bought online, but the broom and wand were handmade. For the broom, I used a big stick and twigs, while the wand was an old chopstick that I traced with a glue gun and colored using a marking pen and glittered Modge Podge.

This is my favorite photo from our shoot.

Isn’t Hobbes the cutest?

Happiest 4^th birthday, Hobbsie Doodles!