My family is so insufferably northern European and stuck on Lutefisk or oyster stew....no chance.
But one on my kids married a 3rd generation Italian and another a 2nd generation Russian Jew...
Well the Jew does Christmas on our terms, but for a huge latke-fest....and the Italian likes the Christmas eve fish dinner.
But one of the Jewish grand kids is dating a Mexican girl...so there's hope!...problem is they are 15 ! LOL!
Yeah....red and green tamales! Sounds wonderful!

Tamales at Christmas are a tradition down here-Texas.

Many people make them at home to sell or just to eat. Many people buy them at tamale factories. Some of the most common flavors are chicken, pork, bean. Or... any of those with jalapeno. I've made them before. That's a lot of work for one person to do so I'm not doing it every year. But every now and then is ok.

We bought some once from HEB that were some kind of white cheese and green chile. They were delicious! What kind of cheese did you use in yours? I've often thought about cheese as an addition but considering how long they must steam I thought it would all boil out... ?

My favorite filling is pork butt (or shoulder) simmered in a broth with dried chilies (Ancho, Pasilla, Guajillo), but I've never added cheese as a filling. Cheese inside a tamale is extremely Norteño, I think, but then they might do that in northern Mexico, which is less familiar to me than central and southern Mexico. Maybe they are making cheese tamales in Mexico now, but I never saw any when I was spending time there in the 1970s and early '80s. Pork is traditional, and it is also traditional to use pork lard in the masa - it makes them much more tender, as well as flavorful.

I tend to buy tamales rather than make them, although I would make them still if DB would eat pork. They are just not as good with turkey, and I think they need the pork lard in the masa to have the right flavor/consistency.

There used to be a lot of tamale vendors in MacArthur Park, but gang violence has caused them to leave, although some have chosen to work for Mama's Tamales, facing the park.

Lars

I loved to do them with vegetarian filling or left-over turkey from Thanksgiving. Probably not this year--GERD has raised it's ugly head and somehow I don't think tamales are on the "approved" list.

I made a huge batch from leftover Thanksgiving turkey last year. I added mole. They were excellent.

This area of Texas is probably at least 75% Hispanic, so tamales are everywhere at Christmas.
Usually just your basic tamale.
Mostly beef or pork, some bean.
Never heard of cheese or corn tamales.
Definitely not a traditon for me, though.
Nor one I want to adopt.
I did make them once, over 30 years ago, when I first moved here.
As someone else already said, it's a LOT of work.
Not worth it in my book.
But if you are starting a new tradition, you can make them with any filling you like, so be adventurous!

Rusty

For the corn and cheese tamales I just used grated Monterey Jack. I wasn't trying to go for authentic, just tasty. The cheese and green chilies sounds good for next time. I have a bunch of peppers in my garden that are going to ripen soon!

For the pork tamales I trimmed off the extra fat from the shoulder, (I was going to render it and using it to flavor the masa instead of just lard) and cut it into big chunks. I simmered it until it was tender with lots of fresh garlic, bay leaf, roasted cumin and coriander seeds, salt and some dried peppers. When it cooled off I remove the extra fat and shredded it and mixed with my mole sauce.

My first attempt at mole (using anchos, pasilla and dried Anaheim) came out really bitter, it was inedible. I don't know if some errant seeds got in or if I baked the peppers too long to soften them, boiled them too long or what, but the taste was horrible. I started over and they came out much better. I didn't bake the peppers, made sure all the seeds were gone and used fewer peppers altogether, only around 3 oz plus a can of diced tomatoes, some of the liquid the pork was cooked in plus seasoning.

The best tip I have is to use a plastic putty knife to spread the masa dough onto the smooth side of the corn husks. Using a knife or back side of a spoon takes forever and comes off uneven.

Kandm:

My 2 DD and 2 of their friends and I have made tamales together for the past 3 years. Last year we made approx. 32 doz.
We start early in the a.m. and usually end late afternoon.

We usually make the pork, but have made some with chicken.

We get our masa from a local mexican lady and then add our own lard and broth etc.

It's a lot of work, but when we all do it together it's fun.

I also agree with you that a plastic putty knife works great. Once over and it's done.

The ones in East Los Angeles called Christmas Tamales have raisins and maybe chocolate and are only made at the holidays. (along with the meat) My DH use to work there these were all homemade.

My aunt is Mexican and they make them every year. As the families have grown, and her mom passed, they needed more hands and I volunteered to help. It is a really fun day to spend together...I am so glad I got invited to this tradition.

As for types, they just do the traditional pork and also some cheese with chilis. Grandma used to make the masa, now they buy it premade and doctor it up just a bit for the right consistency. They are so yummy!

Great tip on the plastic putty knife, I may have to bring some of those this year! Last year I could not attend and they used an actual tamale spreader and said it worked well, also.