Mae surveys all the tools and decorations set aside for the snow sculpture contest. The winning team will receive the best cut of steak at dinner that night. In the contest that Mae previously participated in, she and Andrew built a snow monkey but took too long to finish their design, and Theo ended up wrestling her at some point. Mae is determined to avoid a similar dynamic this time, and she now wonders if his behavior was an early sign of flirtation. Miles, who adores Theo, teams up with him, while Mae is eager to team with Andrew. Ricky and Mae’s mother, Elise, often win the contest, as Elise is an artist and Ricky is a landscape designer.

When Benny asks if Mae has a strategy, she decides to persuade Andrew to work on the monkey design from the start, hoping to change the contest outcome this time. Mae explains that when the usual players win, this seems to sour the mood. She theorizes that if she and Andrew win, perhaps their victory will enhance the group’s contentment and gratitude for the holiday traditions at the cabin.

Mae vetoes Andrew’s panda idea and accidentally lets it slip that their parents are already making a bear.