Gift Shake

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.

Examples of Gift Shake include:

Film

• Gremlins: Billy starts to do this but is quickly stopped by his father since the box contains Gizmo.
• The kid in The Polar Express does this at the end.
• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation: Clark Griswold does this to one of Aunt Bethany's gifts after Rusty brings it to his parents and announces that the box is meowing.
• At the end of Balls of Fury, 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.

Live Action TV

• In the Very Special Christmas Episode of Happy Days, Ritchie's Brother Chuck (who is going to college on a basketball scholarship) gets 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 Christmas Episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, 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 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 Home Improvement shook their presents but heard nothing and concluded that they were clothes.
• Red Green did a Christmas episode in which Harold attempts to demonstrate proper package-shaking technique and of course sends the (breakable) present flying.

Magazines

• A gag in 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.

Newspaper Comics

• A Garfield strip has him 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."
  • This gag was planned to be included in A Garfield Christmas Special, but for some reason wasn't.
• 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."

Western Animation

• 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. Turns it was a present for him... a personalized mug, which promptly shatters in his hands as soon as he tempts fate.

Real Life

• You have done this at some point. Admit it.