Same table, every year

Same chairs, the same old cheer

Coats pile up by the door

We all pretend we’ve heard it before

Someone’s late, someone sighs

Someone already rolls their eyes

But the wine is warm, the lights are low

And somehow… we’re happy to be home

Same table, same old scene

Different minds in between

We don’t agree, we never do

But tonight, we’re still us, all in the room

The drunken uncle with jokes from another age

We smile tight, we gently change the page

The aunt who brings the same bad gift

Wrapped in hope and tape from 1996

We laugh too loud, we laugh it off

We change the subject, we pass the sauce

Nothing’s perfect, nothing’s new

But somehow, the night pulls us through

Same table, same old scene

Different worlds in between

We clash, we sigh, we roll our eyes

Then raise our glasses, synchronized

Politics stay on the shelf

We survive by being ourselves

Old stories, told once more

They land softer than before

Time slows down, plates are bare

Someone hugs you unaware

For a moment, no one wins

And nobody has to explain

Same table, every year

Same flaws, still sincere

We don’t match, we don’t align

But tonight, we share the time

Same jokes…

Same gifts…

Same people…

Still glad we came.