How do we fix holiday meals?

Is it just me, or do all holidays meals kind of suck? I feel like most people have gotten better at cooking turkeys and their prime ribs do that the main dish has come along way (or atleast it has in our household), but the meal as a whole always sorta sucks IMO because of the sides.

I get that it’s hard as no one wants to do a ton of cooking day of and there’s usually travel or a potluck component as you’re going to a family member’s house, but the overall meal always seems to suffer. We, as a household, are all pretty good cooks, love fresh, ready-made meals, but on the holidays (atleast the winter holidays) we sit down to a table full of these pretty eh casseroles as everyone makes stuff ahead of time to bring over.

How do we remedy this? Do y’all have any go-to recipes that are a good blend between easy to make but not mushy casserole? Really looking for ways to improve future holiday meals and could use all the help y’all may have!