By
Michaël Maarek
The Newt in Somerset launched its first advent calendar this year, and it has already gone. On 9 November 2026, the official product page still shows the £250 price but states: “Our 2026 Advent Calendar is now sold out.” Shoppers who missed it are invited to sign up to be the first to shop the 2027 calendar.
That is quick for a £250 food and gift calendar. Country & Town House reported it would be available from 2 November, so it sold out within a week of going on sale.
A calendar shaped like Hadspen House
The design is the hero here. The Newt says its in-house designers illustrated Hadspen House, the estate’s historic house, “in full festive swing”, with familiar creatures gathering in its rooms. Behind the front sit 25 individually numbered drawers. The shop describes it as made in limited numbers for its “first and only release of 2026”.
What was inside The Newt advent calendar?
The official page describes things “to nibble and sip, stir and spread”, decorations for the tree and keepsakes, but does not print the full list. The line-up below was published by Country & Town House and matches the items named by Wallpaper:
1. The Feast mini wooden jigsaw puzzle, exclusive to the calendar
2. Gingerbread spread, 210g
3. Apple gin, 20cl
4. 1847 sage hand cream, 75ml
5. Double cheese sablé biscuits, 80g
6. Decorations inspired by the garden
7. Somerset soft set honey, 227g
8. Estate print tea towel
9. Milk chocolate and sea salt caramel buttons, 140g
10. Three Newt chocolate bars
11. Three packets of Newt seeds
12. Robin notecards
13. Babylonstoren macadamia nut tin, 150g
14. Emily the Cow iced ginger biscuit, 50g
15. Brandy butter, 210g
16. Garden piccalilli, 198g
17. Mulled spices bag, 25g
18. Somerset butter fudge, 150g
19. Two Newt cordials
20. Organic English breakfast tea, 45g
21. Somerset cyder fruit chutney, 198g
22. Babylonstoren extra virgin olive oil blend, 500ml
23. Old English mints in a sweet tin, 120g
24. The Newt corkscrew
25. A 12-month Newt Garden Membership
At £250 for 25 drawers, that is £10 a drawer on average. The membership behind the final drawer carries much of the value: the press coverage says it gives a year of access to the estate’s gardens and partner gardens, subject to membership terms.
Our take: hotel calendars are now a category
The Newt joins the luxury hotel and estate brands that use an advent calendar as a gift version of a stay. It is mostly a pantry calendar: preserves, spreads, chocolate, tea and a small bottle of gin. Then the garden membership gives the buyer a reason to visit in 2027. That is a clever twist on the “big final door” formula, and it explains the price better than the food alone.
It also shows how fast limited runs move in early November. If a luxury calendar says “limited numbers”, it is safer to treat the launch date as the real deadline.
Price and availability: the essentials
- Price: £250, as still shown on the official page.
- Availability: sold out online on 9 November 2026. Wallpaper reported that it was also sold at The Newt Farm Shop and The Creamery at Castle Cary station; we have not checked in-store stock.
- Contents: 25 numbered drawers, finishing with a 12-month Newt Garden Membership.
- Next year: the shop offers a sign-up to hear first about the 2027 calendar.
See The Newt advent calendar page, or read about another sold-out food calendar, M&S Foodhall’s £100 advent calendar on All Subscription Boxes.
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