Cheap Gift Idea: McDonald's Sanrio Watches

"Q, want to go to McDonald's?" The Sister asked as I arrived home from work.

"Why?" I asked, somewhat suspicious.

"I want to get a Sanrio watch."

"Huh?"

"It comes with the Happy Meal," she explained.

So after an errand here and there, it was off to McDonald's.

They have a classic Happy Meal box to go with this promo rather than the sad but probably more environmentally friendly bag.

Initially, the Sister was only planning on getting one Happy Meal, but I pointed out to her that she could just ask which watches they had available and decide from there (I know my way around McDonald's!).

She ended up getting two Happy Meals which she obviously couldn't eat all by herself; it's a good thing her older brother was there to help her out!

Apparently, it's the 50th anniversary of Sanrio and McDonald's is marking the occasion with Sanrio watches. They're actually pretty cute and would make a good (and cheap) gift for a Sanrio fan in your life. They seem fairly sturdy and are largely plastic and rubber. I did notice that you can't remove the backing to change the batteries though. The Sister also had a little difficulty attaching one of the rubber pegs into the notch to secure the watch on her wrist. But other than that, not bad at all for a Happy Meal toy.

Update 12/08/10: The Sister went and got another one. This time a frog:

The watches keep time, can show the date, and serve as a stopwatch. Here's a picture with the entire line up of McDonald's Sanrio watches:

As you can see The Sister is three watches from completing the set.

Update 12/20/10: The Sister has confirmed that the Sanrio watches are out and replaced with Beanie Baby-like plushies called "Only Hearts Pets" with Velcro hands to clasp on to things. If you're still looking for the watches, you're chasing a dwindling supply so best of luck to you!