Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We're having ourselves a little St. Patrick's Day gathering tonight. Green milkshakes for the kids, some Guinness for the grownups, and a bit of an old-school menu of mashed potatoes, buttery pan-fried whitefish, carrots and peas. One neighbour is bringing a roasted chicken and another some some sort of Ireland-inspired dessert. If I get home in time, I'll make soda bread (which is really easy - check out the soda bread recipes we have on thestar.com today).

Despite the Norwegian surname, I really am Irish. On my mother's side. And today I'm wearing my vintage Shamrock pin, a gift from my granddad, whom I adored and who - while born in Canada - was very proud of his Irish heritage.

There are quite a few green shirts around the office today, which is nice to see. My theory is that anybody who wants to be can be Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Nothing would make me happier than to see my Pakistani friend wearing green today (he drives a cab, between interviews for jobs where he'd actually get to put his MBA to use). In fact, maybe I should give Amir a call.

What could be more Canadian, really, than to order some sushi or a pizza to go with your St. Paddy's Day beer tonight? And when you've got kids, isn't any occasion a reason to celebrate?

Here's our St. Patrick's Day guide.

And if you're looking for March break ideas to take you through the rest of the week, find some inspiration on our March break guide.