Six children, aged between 5 months and 15 years, spent Christmas in hospital this year.
Two-year-old Hohepa-Rewi Bull, of Invercargill, arrived at hospital on Christmas Eve after hurting his finger when a door closed on it. He did not expect to stay overnight.
His mother, Renee, said, "It is not ideal but he has been given presents and been really well looked after."
She said he needed surgery on his finger and would be back again in the evening. Until then they could go away for a few hours.
Registered nurse Tarryn Scully said they were lucky to have been given many presents for the children so each one got to open something for Christmas.
"We give gifts to children and their families to try to make it as happy as we can ... we have given out so many."
She said there was a roast on the menu for lunch, which helped to create a sense of normality for the children and their families for the holiday.
"We wouldn’t be able to do it without the donations."
The children’s ward caters for babies through to 16-year-olds and so gifts donated varied to allow for all patients to receive one.
