History Main / GiftShake

* ''WebOriginal/PusheenTheCat'': In ''Pip's Present'', Pip shakes the Christmas gift that Pusheen gives him that comes attached with a warning not to open before Christmas. His guesses go from roast turkey to a full playground set to a car. In the end, [[spoiler:the box is revealed to be empty. Pusheen ''knew'' he would try to peek at the gift, so she gives him the empty box as a decoy and keeps the actual present.]]

* ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'': Billy starts to do this but is quickly stopped by his father since the box contains Gizmo.

* A woman receives a gift from her man while cleaning up after her daughter's birthday celebration. The first bag contains a bottle of pinot noir. After four more nested bags, she unwraps a manila envelope, which she shakes, expecting a necklace. Instead, the contents are documents from a DNA test, which confirms that the daughter is not the man's offspring. "You and N'vaya have 'til the end of the month to get out of my house." [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8RG2ThV10g Viewable on YouTube here.]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* A woman receives a gift from her man while cleaning up after her daughter's birthday celebration. The first bag contains a bottle of pinot noir. After four more nested bags, she unwraps a manila envelope, which she shakes, expecting a necklace. Instead, the contents are documents from a DNA test, which confirms that the daughter is not the man's offspring. "You and N'vaya have 'til the end of the month to get out of my house." [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8RG2ThV10g Viewable on YouTube here.]]
[[/folder]]

* ''WebOriginal/PusheenTheCat'': In ''Pip's Present'', Pip shakes the Christmas gift that Pusheen gives him; his guesses go from roast turkey to a full playground set to a car. In the end, [[spoiler:the box is empty]].

* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': In a December 2022 Sketch titled "Jennifer Coolidge is Impressed by Christmas Stuff," Chloe Fineman, as Coolidge is impressed with holiday staples like lights and carols. At one point she shakes a gift, guessing from the sound that it contains an antique doll with one eye. She is correct.

* ''Series/HappyDays'': In the Very Special ChristmasEpisode, Ritchie's BrotherChuck, who is going to college on a basketball scholarship, gets [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2j1Ror7ahQ#t=3m24s a round object covered in paper.]] Joanie bounces it over to him, which Chuck admonishes her for since it might be fragile... before giving it a good shake himself.

** In another strip, Garfield tries weighing, measuring and shaking a present to determine what's inside, then says "So much for the scientific method", grabs Jon's face and demands to know what it was.

* ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'': One Christmas episode has Harold attempt to demonstrate proper package-shaking technique, and of course send the (breakable) present flying.

* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': "This Is a Life?": Bugs Bunny shakes a wrapped gift Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam give him in and then pauses to listen. The ticking tips him off it's a bomb. A game of "You take it" ensues.

* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'': In a December 2022 Sketch titled "Jennifer Coolidge is Impressed by Christmas Stuff," Chloe Fineman, as Coolidge is impressed with holiday staples like Christmas lights and Christmas Carols. At one point she shakes a gift, guessing from the sound that it contains an antique doll with one eye. She is correct.

%%

* ''Series/HappyDays'': In the Very Special ChristmasEpisode, Ritchie's BrotherChuck, who is going to college on a basketball scholarship, gets [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2j1Ror7ahQ#t=3m24s a round object covered in paper]]. Joanie bounces it over to him, which Chuck admonishes her for since it might be fragile... before giving it a good shake himself.

* ''[[http://www.thegiftofchristmas.com/ The Gift of Christmas]]'', a looping radio show that many radio stations play during the holidays (mostly Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), has a sketch where "Captain Christmas" comes to the aid of a lady who has two identically wrapped gifts for a girl and a boy. The boy traditionally opens presents on Christmas Eve, while the girl is Norwegian and opens hers on Christmas Day. The labels fell off both, and Captain Christmas has to find out which gift belongs to whom. He shakes one of the gifts increasingly furiously, with audible glass breaking coming from the box, and comes to the conclusion that the one he shook ''wasn't'' the wine glasses that the Norweigan girl asked for.

* A woman receives a gift from her man while cleaning up after her daughter's birthday celebration. The first bag contains a bottle of pinot noir. After four more nested bags, she unwraps a manila envelope, which she shakes, expecting a necklace. Instead, the contents are documents from a DNA test, which confirms that the daughter is not the man's offspring. "You and N'vaya have 'til the end of the month to get out of my house." Viewable on [=YouTube=] here: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8RG2ThV10g]].

* A woman receives a gift from her man while cleaning up after her daughter's birthday celebration. The first bag contains a bottle of pinot noir. After four more nested bags, she unwraps a manila envelope, which she shakes, expecting a necklace. Instead, the contents are documents from a DNA test, which confirms that the daughter is not the man's offspring. "You and N'vaya have 'til the end of the month to get out of my house." Viewable on YouTube here: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8RG2ThV10g]].

* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': "This Is a Life?": Bugs Bunny shakes a wrapped gift Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam give him in and then pauses to listen. The ticking tips him off it's a bomb. A game of "You take it" ensues.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

A character obtains a wrapped present and shakes it in order to identify the contents. Sometimes said shaking breaks the gift inside, which was fragile.

** One strip has Garfield shaking a Christmas present that goes "rattle, rattle" and saying, "I hope it's for me." Then it goes "rattle, rattle, CRACK!" and Garfield says, "I hope it's for Odie."
** He once tried weighing, measuring and shaking a present to determine what was inside, then said "So much for the scientific method", grabbed Jon's face and demanded to know what it was.
* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': Jason is seen shaking a present and saying, "Ooh! I wonder what this is?" A shattering noise is heard as he tells his friend Marcus, "That's why I never shake my own presents."

[[folder:Film]]

* The kid in ''WesternAnimation/ThePolarExpress'' at the end.

* At the end of ''Film/BallsOfFury'', Randy gives his master a gift. He vigorously shakes it before Randy has a chance to tell him that it was a new lucky cricket, which is now dead.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* In the Very Special ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/HappyDays'', Ritchie's BrotherChuck (who is going to college on a basketball scholarship) gets [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2j1Ror7ahQ#t=3m24s a round object covered in paper.]]
-->'''Joanie:''' Here's a present from Richie to you. What do you think it is? ''bounces it to Chuck''
-->'''Chuck:''' Hey, watch it. ''shakes'' It might be something breakable.
* In the Season 2 ChristmasEpisode of ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'', Sabrina is suffering from a condition called "egotitis", due to the fact that she still has a somewhat childish and selfish view of Christmas. Because she suffers this, she's forbidden to receive presents on Christmas. When her presents disappear as she was about to open one, she gives the following lament:
-->"Awww, I shook that one last night. It was good."
** Sabrina's roommate, Morgan, has the ability to determine the contents of any gift by shaking it.
* A quick gag on ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' was that the Conner kids would test their presents this way "for the good stuff", so Dan and Roseanne started wrapping the toys in cloths.
* The boys in ''Series/HomeImprovement'' shook their presents but heard nothing and concluded that they were clothes.
* ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'' did a Christmas episode in which Harold attempts to demonstrate proper package-shaking technique and of course sends the (breakable) present flying.
* In the first episode of ''Series/ScarecrowandMrsKing'', Amanda's son Philip does this and saves the day. The present he shook and "broke" contained a secret message. Philip is able to tell his Mom the message – which makes no sense to the spies. But Amanda figures out it is recipes on a cooking show being used to send information to Soviet spies.
[[/folder]]

* In the ''Literature/BlackJewels'' extended story "Winsol Gifts" Saetan anticipates this and actually has prepared some obvious, attractive presents that rattle nicely, filled with junk, to save the more delicate gifts.

* A gag in ''{{Magazine/Mad}}'' has this, where a dad shakes the gift from his son, opens it... and discovers that it's a ship in a bottle, which has been pulverized by the shaking.

* [[http://www.thegiftofchristmas.com/ The Gift of Christmas,]] a looping radio show that many radio stations play during the holidays (mostly Christmas Eve and Christmas Day), has a sketch where "Captain Christmas" comes to the aid of a lady who has two identically wrapped gifts for a girl and a boy. The boy traditionally opens presents on Christmas Eve, while the girl is Norwegian and opens hers on Christmas Day. The labels fell off both, and Captain Christmas has to find out which gift belongs to whom. He shakes one of the gifts increasingly furiously, with audible glass breaking coming from the box, and comes to the conclusion that the one he shook ''wasn't'' the wine glasses that the Norweigan girl asked for.

* [[http://xkcd.com/1151/ This]] ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' has a variation.

* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'': On the advice of Garfield's evil side, he jumps into the mail cart, and, after finding the package Jon was waiting for, shakes it. This doesn't break it directly, but he accidentally drops it on the brake, releasing it, while it bounces off onto the sidewalk. [[spoiler:Turns it was a present for him... a personalized mug, which promptly shatters in his hands as soon as he [[TemptingFate tempts fate]].]]
* In a Christmas episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', by shaking Lisa's present, Bart is not only able to tell that she's getting a sweater, but also that it's hand-knitted, and yellow.
* [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Bugs Bunny]] shakes a wrapped gift Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam give him in "This Is A Life?" And then he pauses to listen. The ticking tips him off it's a bomb. A game of "You take it" ensues.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'':
** One strip has Garfield shaking a Christmas present that goes "rattle, rattle" and saying, "I hope it's for me." Then it goes "rattle, rattle, CRACK!" and Garfield says, "I hope it's for Odie."
** He once tried weighing, measuring and shaking a present to determine what was inside, then said "So much for the scientific method", grabbed Jon's face and demanded to know what it was.
* ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'': Jason is seen shaking a present and saying, "Ooh! I wonder what this is?" A shattering noise is heard as he tells his friend Marcus, "That's why I never shake my own presents."
* ''ComicStrip/OverTheHedge'': Verne, anxious to know what RJ got him, shakes his present and concludes it's not alive. RJ passes by and adds "Anymore..."
[[/folder]]

[[quoteright:349:[[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/giftshake.png]]]]

* In the first episode of ''Series/ScarecrowandMrsKing'', Amanda’s son Philip does this and saves the day. The present he shook and “broke” contained a secret message. Philip is able to tell his Mom the message – which makes no sense to the spies. But Amanda figures out it is recipes on a cooking show being used to send information to Soviet spies.

[[folder: Film ]]

-->'''Clark''': ''[[CloudCuckooLander She wrapped up her damned cat!]]''

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

--> "Awww, I shook that one last night. It was good."

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Magazines ]]

[[folder: Newspaper Comics ]]

[[folder: Radio ]]

[[folder: Web Comics ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/giftshake.png]]]]