As for Christmas foods...
My parents never really made any special main dishes and sides for the Christmas meal. Rather, it was more a matter of the setting in which we ate the meals - the nice tablecloth, the dishes, the silverware, etc.
However, my Mom usually makes those Italian waffle-iron cookies, pizzelle. And usually in a couple of different flavors. The traditional flavor is anise which my Mom doesn't make that often if at all nowadays. Otherwise, it's chocolate, orange, lemon and vanilla.
There were also a few years when all of us boys were still boys, and she would make a Bouche de Noel, or buy a nice one from a neighborhood bakery.
OH - And then there was always that Chocolate Wafer Roll/Cake made with those Nabisco Chocolate Wafer Cookies and vats of Whipped Cream or Cool Whip. Hmmm... I always liked eating it frozen.