Wave down a vendor and you’ll find their tamales are as varied as the wrapped presents beneath a Christmas tree. The masa-based staple traces its origins to Mesoamerica and has countless iterations — around 500 types of tamales are credited to Mexico alone, plus bite-size chuchitos from Guatemala, sweet corn-filled ducunus from Belize, a Salvadoran variety that mixes masa with refried beans and many more.

We’re lucky to find nearly all of them here in Southern California, plus inventive options spearheaded by a new generation of chefs who are reclaiming the tamal as a canvas for creativity. Just as prevalent as traditional tamales, these reimagined versions tout local produce and often play on the multicultural backgrounds of their makers.

Chef Mario Alberto, who grew up preparing corn husks and making masa dough for tamales that his mother would sell every holiday season, thought he wanted nothing more to do with making them. But after offering them last year at his vegetarian restaurant Olivia in Koreatown , Alberto gained new respect for his mother’s craft and decided to commit more fully to carving out his own perspective. Armed with his ancestral skills, Alberto concocted a masa recipe that substituted lard with coconut fat and avocado oil and layered in aromatics such as thyme and turmeric.

Instead of “12 days of Christmas,” make it a dozen days of tamale tasting and dig into specialties that range from plantain-wrapped options drenched in Oaxacan mole to sweet variations filled with macerated strawberries and topped with pistachio crumbles. Ready to complete your holiday and New Year spreads, here are 22 of our favorite tamale makers across Los Angeles and Orange County, spanning bakeries, street vendors, pop-ups and more.