Yes, there was talk about Blizzard removing anything in game that referenced their staff (current or prior) after the McCree lawsuit thing.
The gifts were a holiday event rather than seasonal theme. I think it was available in NS too.
It was released two xmas’ ago and didn’t make a return last xmas so it’s very uncertain if we’ll ever see it again.
I’d love it to return though (and replicated for other events during the year… red envelopes, easter eggs, pumpkins?) as I still don’t have the cosmic wings but I’d say that with D4 doing events now, we’re not gonna see jack for D3. A shame as anyone wanting to farm up the Quinquennial Sword can’t get them since Development Hell isn’t accessible either.