History Main / ConvenienceStoreGiftShopping

* On ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' Carla tells Turk NOT to do this as a relationship test. He comes up with a nice pen since she likes to write letters by hand. Admittedly, he grabbed it out of a box of items [[AssShove extracted from patients' rectums]] as he had zero prep time, but his heart was in the right place.

** On one occasion, Chandler gave the group letters saying, "A donation has been made in your name to the New York City ballet." Bad enough on their own, at least for someone who doesn't care to support the ballet, but the act earns double trope points due to the fact that he took the letters from the Christmas bonus pile at work.

[[folder: Radio & Audio Drama]]

[[folder: Video Games]]
* In the ''VideoGame/HarvestMoon'' game ''Back to Nature'', according to Manna, Duke constantly forgets her birthday, then rushes to the supermarket the following day to get a last-minute gift thrown together.

[[folder: Web Comics]]

* Parodied in [[Webcomic/{{Hiimdaisy}} Peachi]]'s ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' comic (seen above). [[AbusiveParents Dojima]] gives Nanako a gift for Children's Day, which turns out to be a T-shirt clearly labeled "baby boy". [[MyNewGiftIsLame Nanako tries to not sound disappointed]], all while Dojima says it was on sale. [[TheWoobie Poor Nanako]].

* A yearly occasion on WebVideo/{{Jacksfilms}}'s channel is "The Worst Christmas Gifts", in which every year since 2016 he showcases submissions of horrible Christmas gifts that his audience have gotten for Christmas. Contenders include Christmas decorations (which are useless until next year), gamer quote T-shirts, unofficial video game novels, "make a meme" card games, calendars for the same year they were received (eg. a 2020 calendar received on Christmas 2020), and a drawing book of pooping animals.

* The ''WebVideo/ScottTheWoz'' episode "It's A Bargain Bin Christmas" has Scott giving his friends cheap bargain bin video games for Christmas because he ran out of money. His friends are understandably upset at him.

[[quoteright:300:[[Webcomic/{{Hiimdaisy}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conveniencegift2_851.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[VideoGame/{{Persona4}} And he got his nephew a speedo.]]]]

[[quoteright:322:[[Webcomic/{{Hiimdaisy}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/conveniencegift2_851.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:322:[[VideoGame/{{Persona4}} And he got his nephew a speedo.]]]]

Often overlaps with MyNewGiftIsLame. If the giver is especially confused they may give a ShoddyKnockoffProduct as part of this trope. The recipient might say "You shouldn't have!" as a result. See also GiftGivingGaffe.

* ''[[{{ComicStrip/Dilbert}} Dogbert's Clues for the Clueless]]'' shows how to torment friends by giving them home-made gifts and how to treat people who give bad gifts.

* Played with in ''ComicStrip/SafeHavens'': the recipient in question was one-year-old Maria Argus, so she wouldn't remember anyway, and thanks to the 3-D printer on board the ship, there would be no 'unwanted' gift. Still, everyone else forgot until the day of the party to actually print baby Maria's gifts, much to her mother Samantha's ire. Most embarrassing was Maria Novello forgetting to do so [[spoiler: because she's ''[[MyFutureSelfAndMe Maria Argus's future self]]]]''.

* Played with in ''ComicStrip/SafeHavens'': the recipient in question was one-year-old Maria Argus, so she wouldn't remember anyway, and thanks to the 3-D printer on board the ship, there would be no 'unwanted' gift. Still, everyone else forgot until the day of the party to actually print baby Maria's gifts, much to her mother Samantha's ire. Most embarrassing was Maria Novello forgetting to do so [[spoiler: because she's ''[[KidFromTheFuture Maria Argus's future self]]]]''.

* Played with in ''ComicStrip/SafeHavens'': the recipient in question was one-year-old Maria Argus, so she wouldn't remember anyway, and thanks to the 3-D printer on board the ship, there would be no 'unwanted' gift. Still, everyone else forgot until the day of the party to actually print baby Maria's gifts, much to her mother Samantha's ire. Most embarrassing was Maria Novello forgetting to do so [[spoiler: because she's ''[[KidFromTheFuture Maria Argus's future self]]''.

Alice is all ready for the office Christmas party and on the road when Bob calls to make sure she's on the way. "I sure had a hard time picking out a SecretSanta gift for Carol!" he mentions. Alice just then remembers that she drew Zachariah in the Secret Santa exchange, and never got around to buying anything. He just transferred into the department last month, Alice barely knows the guy. And it's 8 PM on December 24th, nothing's going to be open--what luck, there's a Gas-N-Go on the next exit! Now, present, present...store's nearly been picked clean! And Alice leaves the shop with a box of Cloud Cakes[[TradeSnark ™]] and a gift ribbon....

There are many gift-giving events throughout the year, some of which you can dodge, and others that you really shouldn't for reasons of family tranquility, office politics or simple etiquette. But sometimes you just don't know a person you're giving a gift very well, or they're difficult to shop for, or you have no imagination, or you put it off until the very last minute. So you just grab the first thing that seems vaguely appropriate, and give that. Some "white elephant" gifts have been making the rounds for years, being regiven over and over.

# Gifts clearly chosen with little or no thought about what the recipient might like. This can range from quite nice but not suited to the personality (a pink frilly dress for the {{Tomboy}}) through decent but generic ("everyone's getting Enya [=CDs=] this year; they were on special") to WhatWereYouThinking (dental floss.) Special bonus points if it's obviously just been picked out of the garbage or the neighbor's yard. Even more bonus points if the present is completely useless, harmful or even spiteful to the recipient (giving a music player to a deaf man, giving a roasted ham to a kosher-keeping Jewish woman, etc.)

* In one commercial for Shoppers Drugmart, a man sees his wife coming home with a bunch of Shoppers bags. When he asks what's inside them, the wife says that they're Christmas gifts. The husband then imagines his family opening gifts on Christmas morning, with him getting toilet paper, his daughter getting mouthwash and his son getting soap.

* ''Zan Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'', when devoting one of its ThreeShorts to discussing emergency measures, had the entire class partake in this kind of gift giving for Nami's birthday.

* In ''Manga/HoneyAndClover'', everyone is sitting around chatting when all of the sudden someone asks, "So, why did we gather today again?" Takemoto, the resident ButtMonkey, informs them all, with a [[StepfordSmiler smile plastered on his face]], that it's his birthday. Cue people running around trying to set up some kind of party for him, including Takumi running out and coming back with a bunch of assorted convenience store cakes that he pushes into a whole cake and decorates with altar candles.

-->'''Hermione:''' I should have been more suspicious of that perfume, but growing up, giving cheap perfume was a joke in our house. It meant you waited until the last second and only some late night store selling cheap stuff was open. It seemed so like Ron that I didn't think he wasn't out shopping the night before.

* In ''Dieu seul me voit'' (by Bruno Podalydès, 1998), the main character needs to buy a gift at the last moment, and grabs a table lamp from the nearest store. That lamp ends up being repeatedly given around as a way for every recipient of the gift to get rid of it.

* The Creator/TomHolt novel ''Grailblazers'' reveals that SantaClaus is really one of the Wise Men who gave gifts to the infant Jesus, doing community service as punishment for the fact that (unlike his colleagues, who planned ahead and brought gold, frankincense and myrrh) he left it until the last minute and couldn't come up with anything better than a pair of socks.

** In season two, Joey and Chandler get caught up before buying their gifts, and end up shopping at a gas station on Christmas Eve. Rachel gets wiper blades, even though she doesn't have a car (but they give an odorizer so she can feel like she's inside one), Phoebe gets a package of toilet seat covers, Monica gets a box of condoms, and Ross gets two cans of pop (he trades one of his drinks for the condoms).

** In one episode, Chandler and Monica agreed to make each other presents for Valentine's Day. Monica ended up giving Chandler a sock puppet Phoebe had made. Chandler gave Monica a mix tape he had lying around in his closet (and it transpired that the mix tape had been made for him by Janice for an earlier Valentine's Day).

** At Emma's first birthday party, Joey didn't realize they needed to bring presents. He improvises, and does a 'dramatic' reading of one of Emma's favorite books. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but her parents and grandparents actually love it and he earns points for moving everyone to tears.

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' (birthday variant): One hundred eighty-two dollars exactly (plus a terribly worded card). Elaine says: "What are you, my uncle?" Earlier in the episode, Jerry told George to only spend half as much on his gift since Jerry and Elaine are back in a relationship, so George gives her ninety-one dollars. (Kramer, miraculously, gives her not only the unusual gift she wanted, but a poetic and thoughtful card.)
* On ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' Carla tells Turk NOT to do this as a relationship test. He comes up with a nice pen, since she likes to write letters by hand. Admittedly, he grabbed it out of a box of items [[AssShove extracted from patients' rectums]] as he had zero prep time, but his heart was in the right place.

* On one of the ''{{Series/Monk}}'' Christmas specials, Monk's truck driver father is ordered to drive around the country by his boss and give "presents" fitting this tropes (such as dreidels and other misc objects) to orphanage children. [[spoiler:The boss wanted to overwrite the memory of the truck's GPS by maxing out the miles it could store so it would overwrite evidence of him killing someone by shoving them into the engine. For some reason he forgot to clean the engine itself...]]

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' uses this a couple times, of the 'grab whatever's nearby' variety. Roz gives Frasier a book that had been hers (complete with the usual incriminating inscription), and in a later episode Niles gives Roz a broken old cheese crock with a dead bee in it.

* In the first episode of ''HoldTheBackPage'', Ken Wordsworth forgets his son's birthday and so hands him the dictionary his co-workers gave him as a joke present at his farewell party earlier that day (he was journalist leaving an upmarket paper to work at a tabloid). He did this mostly so his ex-wife wouldn't realise he had forgotten, but it turns out the son quite appreciates the dictionary.
* One [[ChristmasEpisode holiday episode]] of ''Series/{{Thirtysomething}}'' had Michael, who is Jewish, acting really grumpy throughout the holiday season, mostly over differences with his gentile wife over how to celebrate their baby's first Christmas/Chanukah/whatever. At the end, when [[spoiler:he finally caves and asks Gary to help him bring home a Christmas tree]], he thanks Gary for his help and offers him a Santa Claus Pez dispenser as a Christmas present. Gary is touched but bemused; Michael then confesses that he stole the Pez dispenser off his business partner's desk at the last minute.

* One Series/MADtv [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCb07gXx6kE sketch]] has a couple forgetting to get Christmas presents for their children, forcing them to scrounge through their closet and bathroom. The kids received toothbrushes, used aftershave, high-heeled shoes and a tie.

* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': Well-meaning bad gift-giver Johnny stops at the church rummage sale to get gifts for his family, including a tin for Moira's wig pins, a thousand yen for Japanophile David and "stickers of old men" for Alexis (which are stamps).
* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'', "[[Recap/BrooklynNineNineS3E10YippieKayak Yippie Kayak]]": Jake forgets to get a Christmas gift for Charles. Gina suggests he go to Goodwin's. He begs her to go shopping with him to help him choose, and Charles tags along, too. because he overhears them, but is told that Jake forgot a gift for his girlfriend. He gets him cologne (his brand), but the store is being robbed and they get into real life ''Die Hard'' situation.

--> (Chorus) ''All night garage, all night garage, Christmas shopping at the all night garage.''

* A ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'' strip has Jeremy and Sarah exchanging gifts for Christmas, but Sarah forgot. She quickly grabs the first thing she sees, wraps it and gives it to Jeremy. Cut to Jeremy and Hector examining the very loud, wide necktie:

** A second strips has Jeremy's dad invoking the trope by walking up to Connie one early morning, kissing her and wishing her a happy Mother's Day. Cue Jeremy panicking and dashing out to grab a gift. Turns out Dad was just messing with him.

* The page quote from Creator/EddieIzzard's skit on the Nativity. Jesus was delighted with his Christmas presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh, but when he asks "...and now for my birthday presents?" they're stumped. Of course, [[InsaneTrollLogic since it's Christmas Day, the only shop that's open]] is the 24-hour petrol station...

* ''Webcomic/PvP''[='=]s Christmas Special involves Francis getting a last minute Secret Santa gift at the gas station across the street.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' episode "Operation: B.R.I.E.F.S.", Numbuh One claims that his grandmother once gave him a hair dryer. (Numbuh One is ''bald''.) Still, [[BrickJoke later in the episode]], the hair dryer (which he kept, oddly enough) proves useful against [[ProfessionalKiller Mr. White]], a living pair of underwear sent as a hitman. (It's a weird cartoon.)

** In the very first episode, "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", Marge ends up spending her holiday savings getting a tattoo Bart got removed, hoping that Homer's Christmas bonus can make up for it. Unfortunately, Homer doesn't get his bonus (but can't admit it because he doesn't want to ruin things for his family), and is forced to buy cheaper gifts, including a dog chew toy for Maggie, pantyhose for Marge, and pads of paper for Bart.

** Another episode featured a store devoted entirely to last minute gifts.

** On the [[YetAnotherChristmasCarol ''Christmas Carol''-themed Christmas episode]] "Don't Be A Dickens At Christmas", Peter buys his family last-second Christmas gifts from 7-11 to make up for his selfish attitude, he buys Lois a yard chair; he buys a ''People'' magazine for Chris; a cooler for Stewie; a "I Heart Rhode Island" sweatshirt for Brian and a iPod alarm clock for Meg.

* In the Christmas episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Braceface}}'' Nina gives Sharon a large gift basket for her Secret Santa gift. Inside it is little bottles of shampoo that you find in a hotel room, a car calendar (her dad owns a dealership) and a little blue kitten toy which turns out to be the thing Maria gave to Nina for Secret Santa last year.

* In the US, the Chia-Pet is usually seen as this, since they're ultimately useless and not that exciting, seeing as it's merely an animal shaped pot you smear seed paste on and wait for it to grow. Getting one is usually code that the giver either forgot about getting you a gift, or doesn't like you very much. They're frequently sold in drug stores, which are sometimes the only things open (sometimes by law) after all the good stores have closed for Christmas.

** Unfortunately said gift cards are now thought of as a lazy gift idea, though others argue that it's better for the person to have the money given to buy something they'd want in that store, rather than getting something they wouldn't want. A well chosen gift card can also convey that at least some thought was put into what the recipient would want while just giving plain cash is seen as ultimately lazy.

* Economists have studied how much value is lost by these transactions. For example if someone buys a brand new item that the gift receiver doesn't like and donates to charity, which then sells the item at 20% of the original price, then 80% of the original value has been lost. Or if you estimate that the receiver values the gift at 80% the cost (a loss of 20%), then that amounts to a loss of $28 billion a year worldwide. Moral: just ''ask'' what someone would want. Or give them cash/a check/a money order/a gift card, and let ''them'' decide what they'd like to get.

** The final chapters of volume 15 has Shirogane bought two Christmas gifts at a very last minute while trying to make it for the Christmas Eve party at Fujiwara's house ([[JustifiedTrope justified]] as this was due to him being hospitalized from overwork in the day before). During the exchange gift party, he gave Moeha a handkerchief and personally an expensive Kendama to Kaguya. To his relief, the two girls didn't mind about it (the former due to her MundaneObjectAmazement and the latter had already accepted his insecurities).

* In ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'', when the Student Council celebrates Fujiwara and Ishigami's shared birthday, Fujiwara's present to Ishigami turns out to be a piggy bank. This stands out for a couple of reasons: [[HypocriticalHumor she'd spent the entire party whining about how inconsiderate everyone else was being]] ([[ItsAllAboutMe for not giving her a separate birthday party with all the focus and attention]]), and because Ishigami's present to her (a foreign board game, which is her hobby) was very well thought-out.

* ''Series/GameOn'': When Toby forgets his mother's birthday, he sneaks out of the house and down the block to the only business in the neighbourhood open early on a Sunday morning: the gas station. He winds up buying her an umbrella hat, and wrapping it in a free road map. He manages to salvage the situation by linking the hat a childhood memory of spending time with his mom.

* In the holiday special of ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'' Tish is talking about her worst holiday experience. Her favourite cousin gave her a Lady Macbeth knapsack, but she didn't have anything to give her. Desperate, Tish simply grabs a sweater from her own closet, which happens to still have the price tag on it, and gives it to her cousin. The cousin isn't too happy about it as it turns out she got the same sweater last year.

** In season two, Joey and Chandler get caught up before buying their gifts, and end up shopping at a gas station on Christmas Eve. Rachel gets wiper blades, even though she doesn't have a car (but they give an odorizer so she can feel like she's inside one), Phoebe gets a package of toilet seat covers, Monica gets a box of condoms, and Ross gets two cans of pop (the last two trade each other's gifts...).

* Ultimately subverted in ''Film/AntMan'' When Scott shows up at his daughter's birthday party (that he wasn't invited to) he brings along an incredibly ugly and slightly terrifying rabbit toy that says "I love you". Later scenes show Cassie being honestly fond of the present.

** In ''Discworld/{{Mort}}'', when Death gives Mort and Ysabell a pearl of congealed reality as a wedding present, Mort says he thought his gift was the toast-rack. Death explains [[AC: That was Albert. I'm afraid he doesn't have much imagination]].
** Part of the wizards' litany of complaints about [[YouMeanXmas Hogswatchnight]] in ''Discworld/{{Hogfather}}'':

* In the ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'' episode "White Lie Christmas," Earl is remembering how he never gave Joy any good gifts. His past presents included keys (they were Joy's already) and condoms ([[CompletelyMissingThePoint they were flavored!]])

** In the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "what I want", Strong Bad and (of all people) Marzipan sarcastically shill bad gift ideas on a mock home-shopping channel. These include ornaments ("There's no better way to say 'I have no idea what your interests are' than to give someone a present that ceases to be useful the moment it's opened."), singing-and-dancing toy "no-bots" ("These things just ''scream'' 'I stopped at the drugstore on the way over.'"), home-made gifts ("These seashells have office supplies hot-glued to them for absolutely no reason."), and worst of all, [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs home-made ornaments]] ("That thing is an anti-gift!").

* From ''Disney/{{Zootopia}},'' Mayor Lionheart's gift to his assistant mayor Dawn Bellwether is a "World's Best Dad" mug, with "Dad" scribbled out and "Assistant Mayor" written in the tiny space above it. He may not even have bothered with the Convenience Store; he might've just pulled the mug out of a cupboard.