From guest blogger Marsha Takeda-Morrison of Sweatpantsmom

I have to admit St. Patrick’s Day is not a big holiday around our house. Although it should be, seeing as my husband is something like one-eighth Irish, along with some Scottish, English, Polish, and a certain allegiance to Australia since most of his relatives are there. Add to that my Japanese ancestry, and you can see how celebrating all of our cultures would be a little daunting. I think the most Irish thing my husband has ever done is hang an air freshener in his car that was shaped like a four-leaf clover.

But this year we plan to celebrate that one-eighth, by downing an Irish beer (or five). St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Monday, so the festivities will be in full swing the weekend before. We’ll start off by heading straight to our favorite, Tom Bergin’s, a classic Irish pub that bills itself as the oldest Irish establishment in Los Angeles. It’s housed in a quaint cottage in the classic Fairfax District, close to the L.A. County Museum of Art. Along with the beer, I’m determined to order corned beef and cabbage. Believe it or not I grew up eating this traditional Irish dish – my Japanese mom used to make it regularly, although I remember it always being served with a side of rice. Hear that? It’s the sound of a thousand leprechauns groaning.

From there we’ll head down the street to Molly Malone’s, which is unique because it also has live music almost every night of the week, everything from acoustic to rock to reggae as well as traditional Irish music. Some popular bands have gotten their start on this stage: Weezer, 5 For Fighting, Train, Tears For Fears and occasionally musicians will show up and play with bands they know – Lenny Kravitz was there recently. I wish I had caught that – listening to Lenny Kravitz play while sipping an Irish whiskey? Awesome, whether you’re Irish or not.

Monday, March 17 happens to be the first day of Spring Break, so with the kids off of school and my husband and I taking the week off, we’ll be able to head downtown to L.A.’s ninth annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. It starts close to one of our favorite locations, Olvera Street, so maybe we’ll start off with a Mexican breakfast. Which is such an L.A. experience – huevos rancheros to begin our Irish day. Come to think of it, the parade also puts us close to Little Tokyo, so maybe the day will end with dinner at one of our favorite sushi bars, Sushi Gen. Our two daughters should be completely confused about their heritage by the end of the day.

Close by, the hip local joint Bar 107 is hosting an all-day party; doors open at 6am. And it’s a wildly popular event – last year there was a line of people waiting to get in even at that early hour, ready to down their $2 Guinness. Somehow drinking at that early hour seems crazy to me, though – I’m sure the Irish experience would end with that most American of pastimes – getting over a massive beer hangover.

How do you plan on celebrating St. Patrick’s Day? Will you wear green, or are you hoping to get pinched?