EKKA Showbags Review: Ekka Showbag Guide 2024

We’ve spent hours pouring over all the Ekka Showbags (they used to be called ‘Ekka Sample Bags’) and have put together a guide to help you determine how to get the biggest bang for your EKKA buck, regardless of  your child’s individual interests.

Families Magazine are the recognised experts in providing trustworthy Ekka resources, as evidenced in our multitude of Channel 9 News appearances showing you how to save at the Ekka!

Let’s be honest, kids all over Brisbane can be divided into two categories, simply send them off to the Ekka Showbags Pavillion without a plan and they will either:

A – beg you to buy the first show bag that slightly appeals to them.  If your child falls into this category and you haven’t planned ahead, please make sure you walk them out the same entrance and aisles you used to come in to avoid buyer’s remorse.

B – walk the aisles 50 times each, and end up in a never ending loop of indecisiveness.

In an effort to avoid both of the above, read our Ekka Showbags Guide for 2023 to determine what “category” of showbag you’d like them to buy and steer them in the right direction! Here is the 2023 Ekka Showbag Pavilion map to help you out:

BUT FIRST: Make sure you read our detailed EKKA Guide so you know everything we know about making the most of your EKKA experience!

Ekka showbags guide overview

We believe that kids Ekka showbags fall into one (or sometimes two) of the following categories. The first decision to be made is which type of show bag you’d like your child to “invest” in, prior to even starting the selection process.

There are no wrong decisions to be made as far as categories go, only wrong showbag choices within the categories i.e. when looking at value for money. Our guide is to help to steer you towards the best choices within each of the following categories, we’ll explain each of them below.

1. The Cheap Showbags
2. The Food Showbags
3. Branded Useful Showbags
4. Costume Showbags
5. Cheap Toy Showbags

Secondly, after selecting your showbag choices, the next thing to look at is whether there are any ride vouchers inside. If there are, your next decision is whether you purchase your showbags at the start of the day (and carry them around or put them in a locker), or buy them towards the end of the day (with the constant worry of “what if they sell out”).

Finally, if you’re heading to the fireworks and plan on arriving early in order to get a great seat, you’ll need to decide whether it’s worth while taking some of the contents along with you in order to assist with the fireworks wait time (perhaps this won’t be such a big issue this year with the earlier / family friendly fireworks!).

Special mention showbags for parents and carers

We’re jumping in early to show you these before we go on to the big food bags and branded showbags because they could come in useful on the day!

• Bubs & Tots Showbag – $30 (value $551.84) – Snacks for little ones, sanity savers and treats for parents plus discount vouchers. We especially love the Oil Garden Cloud Vaporiser (valued at $39.99!) in this bag.
• Rural Aid Showbag – $18 (value $355.76) – Snacks, vouchers – and a percentage of proceeds donated back to Rural Aid for our mates in the bush.

Make sure you follow us on Facebook because I will be posting about my visit to the show on the first morning including where to get the cheapest coffee, where to find the cleanest bathrooms, where to park this year, the best value showbags and my favourite rides (and how to get discounts!).

The cheap Ekka showbags

The cheap EKKA showbags are the ones that are available for under $5.  Within this category, you’re either looking at the cheapest of the cheap, which is the $2 Rainbow Freeze Showbag…

…or a $5 showbag that has the biggest quantity of items in it (and perhaps a novelty item), so the kids think they are getting a fantastic deal.

Our picks for the $5 showbags which have a good quantity of items in it are shown below. Note, we’ve included these based on the lollies being a mainstream brand name and the number of items in the showbags, but we’ve excluded the bags that are likely to blow your head off (the warhead style bags… as they are not for everyone :).

• Little Wizz Fizz Bag – $5 – has 11 fizzy lollies and an inflatable hammer.
• Bertie Beetle Blue – $5 – Everyone’s favourite Ekka showbag has 5 Bertie Beetle chocolate and two x 2-finger Kit Kat
• Furry Friends – $5 – has 5 Furry Friend bars and 3 Dairy Milk bites.
• Lollipops Showbag- $5 – has 33 lollipops plus a frisbee.

Don’t forget to check for multi-buy offers – the $5 Cadbury showbags are all 5 for $20 (only $4 each!) and include favourites like Curly Wurly, Caramello Koala, Furry Friends, and Freddo. If you have multiple children, this is usually a fantastic way to save some money (don’t worry if the contents aren’t equal, you can always dive your hand in when they are on a ride and quickly redistribute the goodies).

The food showbags

• Old Style Liquorice Showbag – $10 – 7 big bags of liquorice favourites.
• All American Showbag – $25 – Popular American snacks and drinks.
• Morish Nuts & Nougat Showbag – $42 – Delicious nougat and coated nut varieties.
• New Zealand Favourites Showbag – $25 – Lollies, chips and a drink.

Special mention in the food showbags goes to:

• Allen’s Choc Classics – $16 – Ten chocky bars and jumbo bag of Freckles.
• Ferrero Rocher – $22 – containing 26 Ferrero Rocher; that’s less than $1 each!
• Big Smarties – $20 – 490g of Smarties plus 2x Bertie Beetle.
• Smith’s Supersnack Bag – $12 – contains 10 packets of chips including Red Rock, Doritos, Grainwaves and Smith’s chip favourites.
• Mr Beast Feastables – $15 – Five bars of chocolate PLUS Skull Candy EarBud headphones!

The branded useful showbags

A lot of the branded showbags actually contain “useful” items, which is a great thing for you, but can often leave the kids disappointed (if they haven’t really looked into what’s inside). I remember buying the Hot Wheels showbag one year for 4 year old twins (they chose it BTW), but when they got home, it was full of novelty items and NO Hot Wheels cars!

A lot of these showbags contain a few of the following items and sell for around $30:

• backpacks
• caps
• water bottles
• socks
• beach towels
• key rings
• t-shirts

In the scheme of things, the contents can actually be quite useful (and pretty good value for money!) and the kids will get a lot of use out of the contents in the future. Just make sure the kids realise they aren’t full of toys!

There are HEAPS of these types of bags, here are a few of our favourites for 2024:

• The Simpsons Bart Showbag – $15 (was $30 last year!) – Backpack, cap, socks, bumper sticker … the contents will hang around for a long time. Alternative Homer backpack available with a towel, and Duff Beer backpack with a t-shirt.
• The Child Showbag – $30 – T-shirt, cap, drink bottle, socks and novelties. There is also a The Mandalorian showbag for fans of the franchise.
• Star Wars – $32 – Backpack and fun retro novelties.
• Friends Showbag – $32 – Duffle bag, cooler bag, travel mug and many more items.

Sports fan showbags

• Brisbane Lions Show Bag – $35 – Bag, cap, bottle, flag, football and novelties.
• Gold Coast Suns Showbag – $35 – Bag, ball, scarf, drink bottle and novelties.
• Matildas Showbag – $30 – Bag, soccer ball, water bottle, scarf and novelities.
• LA Lakers – $36 – Size 7 basketball, sports towel, socks and novelties. Other NBA teams available.

Ekka special – buy any two NRL or State of Origin bags for only $50!

Other sporting showbags include:

• AFL Teams – $30 – caps, flags and novelties of popular AFL teams.
• Subway Socceroos – $30 – bag, ball, scarf and novelties.

Kids’ favourite Tv showbags

• Paw Patrol Team – $32 – Backpack, bento box, drink bottle, wallet, and more! (Paw Patrol Skye showbag also available).
• Peter Rabbit Showbag – $30 – Backpack, ball, garden set, money tin and more.
• Bluey Showbag – $32 – Backpack, bucket hat, lunch box set, and novelties. (Bingo showbag and alternative Bluey showbag also available!)
• Cocomelon Showbag – $32 – Backpack, bucket hat, colouring book, and novelties.

• Thomas The Tank Engine Showbag – $32 – with a backpack, toy, activity set, drink bottle and more.
• Peppa Pig – $32 – Peppa Pig backpack, headband, bucket hat, and more. George Pig showbag also available.
• Sesame Street Showbag – $32 – Backpack, bucket hat, ball and more.
• Scooby Doo Showbag – $28 – Mini basketball set, bubble gun, soft toy, projector torch and more.

• The Wiggles – $28 – with musical instruments.
• Care Bears – $30 – shoulder bag, journal, headphones and novelties.
• Disney Wish Showbag – $30 – Umbrella, light up wand projector light and novelties… this one is great value!
• Disney Encanto Showbag – $15 – Paint by water book and accessories.

Kids’ favourite movie showbags

• The Little Mermaid Showbag – $35 – Dress up costume, accessories and novelties.
• Frozen II Bag – $30 – Umbrella and accessories. Alternative Frozen II Showbag also available.
• Harry Potter Classic Show Bag – $32 – Backpack, stationery, wand and novelties.
• Sonic Showbag – $32 – Backpack, stationery, window walker, yoyo and more. Alternative Sonic Girls showbag also available.

Other favourite movie showbags include:

• Black Panther Wakanda Forever – $20 ($10 less than last year!) – with t-shirt, socks, cap and novelties.
• Guardians of the Galaxy – $20 ($10 less than last year!) – with t-shirt, socks, cap and novelties.
• Toy Story – $30 – with socks, beach towel, drink bottles and novelties.

Kids’ choice showbags

• Mini Mouse Showbag – $35 – Backpack, accessory set, dress-ups and novelties.
• My Little Pony Showbag – $35 – Backpack, dress-ups and novelties
• Barbie Fab Life Showbag – $32 – Duffle bag, hat, and accessories.
• Loony Tunes Showbag – $30 – Mini basketball and pump, bubble gun, slide projector and other fun toys.

• Original Idiot Showbag – $32 – Practical jokes plus choice of toy.
• Pusheen Showbag – $32 – Handbag, stationery, plush toy and more – one of two Pusheen showbags available!
• Mr Potato Head Showbag – $15 – Cushion, tumbler, cap, novelties and more.
• Minecraft Showbag – $35 – Backpack, cap, headphones, and more (dress up Minecraft showbags also available).

• Pixar Showbag – $15  – Backpack, slide show torch, and other novelties.
• Hot Wheels Showbag – $32 – Backpack, cap 2 cars (styles vary) and novelties.
• Ghostbusters Showbag – $20 – Cap, water storage vest, book and yoyo.
• Pokemon Jnr Showbag – $32 – One of two different Pokemon showbags available!

• LOL Surprise Showbag – $32 – Backpack, skirt, and accessories.
• Miffy Showbag – $32 – Plush toy, handbag and accessories.
• Bananya Showbag – $32 – Backpack and novelties.
• May Gibbs Showbag – $32 – Backpack, bath book. plate set, cooler bag, decals and more!

The costume showbags

The EKKA is conveniently scheduled just before book week… so plan accordingly!

• Power Rangers Showbag – $28 – Batman costume, kite and grappling hook.
• Spiderman Bag – $28 – Character dress up, toys and novelties.
• Dino Ranch – $15 – Cowboy hat, vest, soft toy and accessories.
• Minecraft Steve or Alex Showbag – $35 – Dress up hat, vest and sword with bop bag.

• Unicorn Magic Showbag – $32 – A cute backpack and novelties.
• Disney Frozen 2 Dress Up Bag – $35 – Dress, cape, wand and accessories.
• Knights & Gladiators Bag – $25 – Helmet, breastplate, shield and sword.
• Rainbow High Showbag – $32 – Skirt, socks, hair extension and novelties.

The cheap toy showbags

These are the showbags that will last 5 minutes, full of plastic and items will be lost pretty quickly. Don’t expect much from them, but they will offer lots of entertainment for a very short time. 

Whilst they are full of cheap toys, it’s not to say you shouldn’t buy them, some of them are jam-packed with so many novelty items they can be handy to pull out one bit at a time on a rainy day… then the item will likely be binned pretty soon after the first use!

Our picks are below!

• Dollykins – $30 – Cradle, doll, doll clothes and accessories.
• Bugs World – $30 – Bug catcher and observation tools, ideal for the budding entomologist.
• Gag Magic Bag – $20 – Chock full of little magic tricks with a magician’s hat and glasses.
• Dinosaur Rules – $30 – Giant tyrannosaurus rex and other dinosaur toys.

Then, of course, there are all the slime bags…

• Slime Super Showbag – $20
• Nickleodeon Slime – $20

 And Squishy bags

• Squishy Things Showbag- $32 – 12 toys and novelties included.
• Love to Squish Disney Bag – $25 – Five Disney squishies.

And Fidget bags!

• Fidget Big Bag A – $30 – 14 novelties to pop, pull, squeeze and squish
• Ultimate Fidget Showbag – $32 – 14 novelties to pop, pull, squeeze and squish

Showbags for creative kids

These bags are great value and guaranteed to keep your kids busy long after the Ekka.

• Kids Creation Station – $25 – notebook, art diary, pens, pencils, and Sealife voucher.
• Fantasy Art Showbag – $15 – paint by numbers and gem art craft kits
• Home Studio Showbag- $26 – art equipment and sketch pad, and Sealife voucher.
• Play Doh Showbag – $25 – Play Doh, apron, 10 tubs of doh and and 39 tools!

Showbags for tweens and teens

• BBZ Showbag – $32 – Handbag, earrings, sunglasses, cosmetics and accessories.
• Bubble Tea Showbag – $32 – Cup, slippers, stationery and more!
• Stella Athletica Showbag – $30 – Gym top, bag, bottle, snacks and accessories.
• Gloss and Glamour Showbag – $30 – Sleepover bag, sunglasses, accessories and cosmetics.

• Brooklyn 99 Showbag – $32 – Duffle bag, stationery, pin badges and more.
• Call of Duty Showbag – $32 – Duffle bag, socks, stationery, drink bottle and more.
• Fast & Furious Showbag – $32 – Backpack, hat, cooler bag and novelties.
• Assassin’s Creed Showbag – $32 – Backpack, stationery, and accessories.

Showbags for adults

These showbags really represent great value!

• Women’s Essential – $28 (value $620.74) – Overnight bag, bottle, food, vouchers and more.
• Australian Women’s Weekly – $25 – Magazine, cosmetics and food.
• Men’s Essential Showbag – $28 – Bag, bottle, gym towel, snacks and useful items.
• Men’s Style – $35 – Duffle bag, hat, belt, toiletries and snacks.

And don’t forget the pets!

Your pet has been a good boy or girl while you were at the show. Show them how much you appreciate them with a showbag for pets!

• The Big Pet Cat Showbag – $20 – Food treats and toys for your cat, and useful items for you.
• The Big Pet Dog Showbag – $20 – Food treats and toys for your dog, and useful items for you.
• The Pooch Showbag for Dog Lovers – $28 – Kong toy, treats, and discount vouchers.
• The Kitty Showbag for Cat Lovers – $28 – Kong toy, treats, discount vouchers, and a mug for you!

Ekka showbag guide 2024

I’ll be honest, this started off as a top 10 showbag list but may have got a little out of control. But there’s no “top 10” when it comes to showbags; it’s about choosing a showbag “type” and matching it to your child’s interest… then sticking to a budget!

Bring on the EKKA and all the EKKA Showbags!

Can’t get to the Ekka but still want your showbags? See our article about where to buy Ekka showbags online!

Looking for more EKKA fun?

As the sun sets over Brisbane the EKKA excitement ramps up with a HUGE 1.5 hour EkkaNITES program sure to delight families. We’ve got the low down on Ekka fireworks!

Find out where to find the best parking spot in our EKKA parking wrap-up.

Ekka food has evolved over the years from the classic carnival fare to include a selection of gourmet foodie experiences. Here’s our pick of the Top 5 BEST Eats at Ekka!