Why Everyone Looks Forward to This New York Architect’s Lunar New Year Dumpling Parties

The New Year can be a depressing time. Postholiday, a lot of people are isolated. To extend the season’s spirit, every January my grad school friends and I get together on weekends at my architecture firm’s coworking space in New York’s Chinatown to make dumplings for our annual Lunar New Year party. Sometimes people bring new friends, and last year, we made about 1,500 dumplings in three or four sessions. To distinguish each type—pork and chive, chicken and cabbage, and veggie—we’ll make different shapes, like the classic pleated dumpling or triangle, and use colored wrappers. It’s fun because everyone is very crafty.