Over the years, and mostly depending on the age of my children, New Year’s Eve has been anywhere from dinner out at 5pm at an Italian restaurant with my kids to a small party at my home with friends and their kids (don’t miss those messy parties). Now that my children are teenagers and they enjoy spending time with us old people, we’ve transitioned to a good friend’s home where we create homemade pasta, with sauces made locally from Typical Sicilian and play epic games of Pictionary.

Having an activity like this, that everyone can participate in, is wonderful. And what’s better than the end result? Appetizers are simple like an antipasto board and shrimp cocktail, since everyone is rolling up their sleeves to roll and cut the pasta. Here is a tried and true recipe for homemade pasta if you’d like to create a party like this.