Basic Trope: Last minute, useless, thoughtless gifts.
- Straight: Bob forgets his and Alice's wedding anniversary. When he finally does remember, he drives to the nearest convenience store and picks out a pack of cigarettes and a gift bow. Alice has never smoked in her life.
- Exaggerated:
- Same as above, except that Alice just quit smoking a month ago, and her father died of emphysema last week. Nice going, Bob.
- Every gift Bob gives is thoughtless.
- Bob goes to Alice's room, wraps up one of her candles, and gives it to her.
- Bob takes something out of the garbage can as his "gift" to Alice.
- Downplayed:
- Bob goes to the convenience store, but does put in enough effort to pick something Alice would like. For example, if Alice likes candy, Bob could pick out an assortment of candy bars.
- Bob is buying a gift for someone he doesn't know very well, such as a Secret Santa at work, or a Yankee Swap, where anyone could get what Bob brings at random.
- Bob goes to a larger convenience store (a la a Buc-ee’s), which does have a gift shop area.
- Justified:
- Bob forgot about their anniversary, and left shopping until the very last minute as a result. It doesn't help that Alice is hard to buy for.
- Bob knows about their anniversary, and would have thought of preparing a better gift, but being preoccupied with a certain job forced him to pick a last minute gift.
- Bob did buy a nice gift for Alice, but their two-year-old son Charlie just smashed it to pieces, leaving him with just enough time and dough for something from the convenience store.
- The convenience store has some foreign snacks that Alice likes.
- Inverted:
- Bob goes to a high-end department store and picks out a necklace Alice had her eye on, even though there's no special occasion. And he does this every day.
- Bob goes to expensive gift stores just to buy milk and cigarettes, even though he could get them much more cheaply at a convenience store.
- Subverted:
- Alice thinks that Bob is going to give her a thoughtless last-minute gift. Instead, he gets her a gift certificate at the grocery store.
- Alice receives a weird gift from Bob and suspects that he remembered the anniversary at the last moment, but it actually is a prelude to Bob becoming a Cloudcuckoolander out of age.
- Bob is at the gas station on Christmas Eve, but he's just fueling up the car.
- Bob's gas station gift is actually a thoughtful reference to shared history.
- Bob is at the gas station to pick up the gift he ordered from Amazon, as having it delivered at home would have ruined the surprise.
- It would be thoughtless if Bob did the shopping at an American Convenience Store, but this is a Tropestani Convenience Store. (they may be useless in the most technical sense, but Alice appreciates the odd little souvenirs he takes home from his journeys)
- Double Subverted:
- The gift certificate is to a fast-food restaurant, and Alice doesn't eat fast food.
- The gift certificate is to a store for plus-sized women, and Alice responds: "Do you think I'm fat?!"
- Bob was lying to avoid criticism; he's still as competent as ever.
- While he's there, he remembers that he still needs to get something for his wife, and heads inside.
- Parodied:
- Bob buys a thoughtless gift for a total stranger.
- Bob buys a very thoughtful, personal gift from a very high-end retailer that also sells gas; once Alice learns this, she acts as though Bob picked it up at the corner store.
- Zig Zagged: The presents at Alice's birthday party range from extremely well-thought-out to generic to useless and wildly inappropriate, depending on when the shopper remembered.
- Averted:
- All gifts are well-thought-out.
- No gifts are given in the work.
- Lampshaded:
- "What should I get her...? I know! Dental floss! Everyone loves dental floss!"
- "I know people say that's 'it's the thought that counts', but come on Bob! An expired bag of potato chips!? There isn't even any thought on that!"
- Invoked: Bob catches sight of the calendar and notices that it's his and Alice's anniversary tomorrow. He has no gift for her, and because it's so late, only the convenience stores and gas stations are still open.
- Exploited: The convenience stores know that people look in them for gifts, so they stock things that most people would like to get, such as gift cards, chocolate, and stuffed animals. Truth in Television.
- Defied:
- Bob gets Alice something he knows she'd like.
- Bob doesn't put off shopping until the last minute, and pays attention so he can get a meaningful gift.
- Discussed: "It's seven o' clock on Christmas Eve, and the only place open is the Gas-and-Go. With my luck, the one person I forgot to shop for is probably going to remind me to pick up a present just about now. I wonder who it could be?"
- Conversed: "Generic Sitcom reuses Bob getting Alice a lame present at the convenience store every season. You'd think they'd find a way to subvert it somehow."
- Deconstructed: Alice and Bob have a fight later on, and Bob has to make things right.
- Reconstructed: Alice is disappointed by the gift, but thinks it's Actually Pretty Funny. Getting gifts at convenience stores becomes an inside joke, which actually strengthens the couple.
- Played For Laughs:
- Bob gives Alice the lawn gnome from their front lawn.
- Alice genuinely loved Bob's ultra lousy gift, and Bob is utterly embarrassed and mortified because he thinks her super-enthusiastic reaction is just her being super sarcastic about his blunder.
- The thoughtless gift results in a Toilet Seat Divorce.
- Played For Drama: The thoughtless gift causes a big fight, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
- Implied: Alice is asked what Bob got her for her anniversary, and she just grumbles about convenience stores.
I hope you get me a real gift this time. Convenience Store Gift Shopping is really getting old.
