Target is brilliant.

It's such a smart, devious, greedy and corrupt idea that I can't help but watch in stunned wonderment as the rotating viewer scrolls on the Target Lists web site.

Oh, where to begin?

Lists are essentially registries for everyday life. They bank on the Hallmark holiday phenomen by creating perceived urgency to celebrate mundane anniversaries. For example, October 20th is in a couple days and apparently it's the Sweetest Day.

"In time, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer broadened to include everyone from family members to sweethearts, and co-workers to acquaintances." -Link

Note the total lack of specificity when describing what the HELL the sweetest day even is. It's like a Valentine free-for-all in the middle of fall, because we don't already have enough reasons to feel guilty for not being romantic enough with our spouses. Riiight.

Which brings us back to Target Lists. Now, instead of hand writing lists and checking them twice around Christmastime, Little Johnny and Susie can hop on their Macbooks and click right through the toy section to their heart's content. Children are already reckless when walking through physical stores but now we've essentially written them a blank check of guilt.

Guilt? Yes, because we'll never be able to use "it's the thought that counts" excuse anymore. Any sense of creativity or personalization disappears in the face of consumer freedom. People can now specify what color, size, type, etc they need of what items. (So much for the hand-painted pottery ship I was gonna make for the boyfriend.)

Examples of Target List ideas: New apartment. New house. New baby. Engagement. His birthday. Her birthday. Kid birthday. Christmas. Grandparents Day. Military Spouse Appreciation Day.

You see where this could get sticky, right? Once every day has become a special day, how do we give credit to the truly important moments of life? We celebrate ourselves so much now that it's hard to differentiate the genuinely special from the "everything else."