December 12, 2025
If your family had a holiday mascot, what would it be?
Maybe a cat. We eat, run around for a while, and then we sleep.
This Question of the Day made me smile immediately because it feels silly on the surface and quietly accurate underneath. Holiday mascots are usually loud, cheerful, and relentlessly energetic. Think reindeer. Think elves. Think creatures that never seem to need a nap.
Most families are not that.
Most families are much closer to cats.
There is the initial burst of activity. Cooking. Cleaning. Greeting. Talking over each other. Moving plates from one room to another like it is a competitive sport. Someone is always hungry even though food has been out for hours. Someone else insists they are too full while still circling the kitchen.
Then comes the crash.
The couch fills up. The room gets quieter. A blanket appears. Someone falls asleep sitting up. Another person disappears entirely to lie down “for five minutes” and is not seen again until morning. The energy evaporates, not because anything went wrong, but because that is the natural rhythm of being human.
What I love about this Question of the Day is that it asks you to be honest without asking you to be serious. It is not about values or goals or resolutions. It is about behavior. Who are you when the performance is over and the expectations drop.
Some families might be dogs. Loud, affectionate, thrilled that everyone is together, unable to calm down even when exhausted. Some might be turtles, slow and deliberate, happiest when nothing changes and everyone stays close. Some might be raccoons, sneaking snacks late at night and doing their best work when no one is watching.
There is no wrong answer here. The point is not to judge the mascot. The point is to recognize it.
Holidays have a way of revealing patterns we spend the rest of the year pretending are temporary. How we gather. How we rest. How we handle stimulation, stress, and comfort. The mascot becomes a mirror, not an aspiration.
And maybe that is the gift of this question. It gives us permission to stop comparing our families to some imagined ideal. To stop forcing cheer or productivity or nonstop togetherness. To admit that sometimes the most honest version of us is the one curled up, full, quiet, and finally still.
If your family really is a cat, that does not mean you are lazy or disengaged. It means you know how to arrive, expend energy, and then rest. There are worse instincts to have.
This Question of the Day is an invitation to notice and maybe even appreciate the creature you already are. Not the one you think you should be.
🐱 Read the full blog post where I explore this Question of the Day and the Thought of the Day
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💬 Your Turn
What would your family’s holiday mascot be?
Say it out loud. Then tell me why.
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