Christmas menu to go with tamales?

Thanks for all the great suggestions - I melded them and did a big fennel and arugula salad with Bosc pears, dried cranberries, and a cilantro orange vinaigrette. It was a big hit! I also made a spicy butternut squash soup. Dinner was a success!

I know it is a little late but when serving tamales it is always nice to have a good chili sauce to top them with. Salsa with chips and guacamole is always good to have as well, I like to fancy up the quac or make a colorful salad with avacado in it. Here In Houston Texas we serve beans and rice as the side. When serving salad we use a cilantro or tequila lime vinegarett

Keep it simple and ask a friend in Texas.

I agree with Nancy regarding the citrus salad with dark greens. You might try a grapefruit vinaigrette with it and as a first course a pumpkin or butternut bisque with crumbled queso fresco and toasted pumpkin seeds For additional vegetable sides perhaps a roasted vegetable medley including red, green and yellow peppers, purple onions and baby bellas.

Nopales soup, rich chicken broth with some diced tomato, onion, garlic, dried oregano, add the nopales towards the end, canned work well, some fresh cilantro on top , maybe a dollop of crema agria.

And citrus is good now, and good for contrast to the tamales.
Orange and onion salad.
Or dark greens, walnuts, orange segments.

I would go for something crisp and savory/acidic to contrast the tamales. How about something like a shaved fennel salad with olives and herbs? And this seems like it could be a moment for Paul Bertolli's Genius cauliflower soup!