Lily Sidwell, 19 months, was in hospital with bronchitis, but was able to forget about that for a moment when she was given the difficult challenge of choosing between a horse-based showbag and a barnyard animal showbag.

Her mother, Leah Noble, described the event as “just really sweet”.

“I can’t believe people are so generous, everything here is just fantastic,” she said.

Show chief executive Athol Chalmers said the event had been organised to give children who might not make it to the show a little slice of what it was all about.

This includes Leon Marek, 12 months, who was able to experience a bit of what his tonsillitis has forced him to miss out on.

Leon’s mother, Tamryn Marek, said it was fantastic for the show to set up the event, and praised the variety of show bags on offer.

“They’ve got some nice younger kid stuff, they’ve got some bigger kid’s things, and it’s all great,” she said.

General manager of the Canberra Hospital Foundation, Helen Falla, said the annual tradition was a great distraction for the children and lovely for the families.

Mr Chalmers said there were more 100 showbags on offer, priced from $2 to $30.

“There’s everything from Barbie to Thomas the Tank Engine to Peppa the Pig,” he said.

Mr Chalmers said the showbags were always one of the biggest hits at the show.

“They’re really really popular and just part of going to the show really."

The Royal Canberra Show is at Exhibition Park in Canberra from February 22 to 24.