Carrie Honaker is a food writer who loves surprises, especially when they are chocolate. As a restaurateur and avid home cook, she has made her fair share of chocolate confections for the holidays. Her work has appeared in many publications, including Bon Appetit, Allrecipes, and Wine Enthusiast. Unlike some vegan beauty calendars which can often feature products you simple don’t end up using, we guarantee that you will love (and most importantly use) all of the products in this calendar. Joe & Seph’s whimsical vegan advent calendar opens up like a giant Christmas storybook to reveal 24 festive cubbyholes containing seven different popcorn flavours including Vegan Strawberry Caramel, Vegan Chocolate Orange, and my personal favourite – Toffee Apple & Cinnamon Popcorn.

With its cute characters and super sweet dairy-free white chocolate pieces, this is a great option for children who find dark chocolate a bit too rich. Plus, it’s a great option for those with food allergies as Moo Free make their products in a dedicated facility that’s free from soya, gluten and dairy so everyone can enjoy them. Gluten-free: Moo Free makes its chocolates in a dedicated free-from chocolate production facility making their chocolate free from soya, gluten, and dairy. The truffles themselves are a spectacular celebration of cocoa with a punchy, super-chocolately flavour that strikes the perfect balance between richness and sweetness. This fun and colourful calendar feels really high-quality where it counts, whilst containing sustainable elements like a raw cardboard tray. It’s one of the vegan advent calendars that does good while looking good!One thing to note is this calendar is definitely one for those who enjoy boozy chocolates as many contain alcohol, which is good news as you won’t have to share them with the kids! What: Not only is HAPPi's advent calendar vegan and gluten-free, it's also plastic-free, making it the perfect gift for your eco-conscious friend, child or sibling! Having sampled HAPPi's oat milk-based chocolate, we're more than happy eating this 24 days in a row - we'd even continue eating it well into next year if you give us the chance. The calendar opens up like a book to reveal the doors inside and has a luxurious, study feel. However, the downside for me is the amount of plastic you get in the calendar because it has a recyclable plastic tray and the sweets are individually wrapped in plastic. With 24 individually wrapped sweets, that adds top to a lot of plastic! Who says advent calendars have to be filled with chocolates? If you’re looking for something different to the usual chocolate calendars then vegan sweet makers Candy Kittens have just the calendar for you!

So, to find out which vegan advent calendars are worth the money, we tested the contents to see whether they were delicious as this is the most important factor.

In terms of ethics, Montezuma’s works with its suppliers to ensure that all its chocolate meets stringent ethical criteria and certifications. This includes Rainforest Alliance, UTZ, Soil Association and Cocoa Horizons. My 18 month old daughter is a little too young to properly enjoy the toys and trivia, but she is already a very discerning chocolate fan and these were a hit! The products themselves are simply a dream. Each one is beautifully scented with essential oils to calm your mind and body, making your whole bathroom smell like a luxury spa. There are even a few little surprises like crystals designed to promote good energy and enhance the benefits of the products. And never far from anyone’s list of Christmas traditions – young or old – is the advent calendar. What better way to count down to the big day than getting a tiny chocolate treat each day? What: This little choclate factory in Wales makes all their bougie chocolates by hand, and at a very reasonable price too. These advent chocs with a difference include flavours likeraspberry cream in dark chocolate, spiced milk praline, christmas pudding, and lemon sherbet in white chocolate.'Nadolig Llawen' (merry Christmas) indeed!