Gruesome Gift

A character gives someone a really crappy gift that they have to pretend to like.

The Dick Van Dyke Show

Appearances

• The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis: Season 2, episode 6, "The Face That Stopped the Clock" (1960). Dobie buys an ugly clock from the store where Maynard works to make him look good to his boss, and he gives the clock to his dad as a gift.
• The Dick Van Dyke Show: Season 1, episode 12, "Empress Carlotta's Necklace" (1961). Rob buys a garish antique necklace for Laura, which she hates, but he's so happy with his gift that she doesn't want to tell him.
• The Bob Newhart Show: Season 5, episode 6, "Et Tu, Carol?" (1976). Howard gives Bob and Emily a hideous Buddha clock he got from the unclaimed baggage at the airport, and they both pretend to like it to be nice to Howard, but later, Bob has Carol throw it in the river.
• Frasier: Season 4, episode 8, "Our Father Whose Art Ain't in Heaven" (1996). To make up for a fight they had in a restaurant, Martin buys Frasier a painting Frasier pretended to like to avoid offending the restaurant owner. Fraiser hates it, but he doesn't want to hurt his father's feelings, so he pretends to love it.