THOSE FUN CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY WATCHES

Nothing says merry Christmas and happy holidays more then a seasonal watch at Christmastime. It practically screams…

“I’m in the spirit!”

Watches like the ones pictured are great fun and add lots of holiday cheer. And for some great reasons too…

They’re inexpensive!

They’re extremely cute and colorful. And they put you into that gestive holiday mood.

Who can resist smiling when you hear “jingle bells” at the touch of a button? (please remove those little plastic pieces on the buttons or the back first otherwise the watch won’t work… see image 1).

Holiday watches are a sure delight and they’ll spruce up any Christmas outfit with a little red, green, gold or white. Great holiday colors just make these watches stand out and get noticed.

It will be the hit of the office party, everyone will be singing.

Doing a quick search on Amazon for Christmas musical watches, turns up plenty of cute, fun, colorful watches.

But, there’s also a downside to them…

Batteries.

Watches like these suck up the cell juice like it’s going out of style. And that’s where all the fun begins. You see, when the battery goes dead in these watches, replacing them may not be a tough job to do…

It comes with a surprising twist.

First things first, flip the watch over…

You see how thick the watch case is? (might be uncomfortable on the wrist.) That’s because it plays music. You see the little holes in the cover? That’s where the sound comes from (image 2).

Somewhere around the outside cover you’ll probably also see a little lip or notch (image 2).

This is where you’ll need to pry the back off so you can change the battery. Usually a sharp knife, razor blade, or watch case opener will do the trick.

The lid will normally pop off with just a little pressure. And then you’ll see the guts of the watch, and of course, the battery. It all sounds great, right? (If you need to find a conversion for your battery, read my: watch battery replacement chart). You put a new battery in, snap the lid closed, and guess what???

The watch ticks…

But the music won’t play!

What gives?

This is where the holiday watch twist comes into play. Remove the back of the watch again and look in the case. This is when you’ll need to look deeper.

Underneath the white plastic seal you’ll see the answer to your problem (image 3).

Batteries!

Once you lift up that sticker seal, protector or plastic cover (all watches are different), you’ll see that it takes more batteries.

Yes! Almost every musical watch or watch that lights-up has more than one battery. One battery powers the time, movement and hands. And another battery or two powers the music or lights.

1, 2, 3 batteries?

These watches in particular, have 3 batteries in them. THREE! (Guess you need to make another trip to the store to buy more batteries – or buy them from Amazon, they’re cheaper: Cheap watch batteries… Also look at image 4 below to see that little, tiny screw holding the batteries down…)

You’ll need a tiny screwdriver for that. Like the kind you can buy in a glasses or eye-wear repair kit.)

So these 3 batteries are a huge issue. Think about it. I only spent $5.95 for the watch. The batteries are going to cost more than the watch is worth to replace.

These fun holiday watches just turned very expensive.

Is “jingle bells” worth and extra $10 or $15 bucks?

Chances are, you’re probably better off just buying a new watch instead. More things to consider when dealing with cheap Christmas watches….

Cheap Watches Suck!

The cheaper the watch, the cheaper and thinner the gold plating is on them.

If you’re allergic to gold plated jewelry, look out. You could break out in a rash. Not that you’d be wearing the watch much (just over the holiday season), but you only need to wear it once for your allergies to flare up.

One good point is, if you can get a watch with a stainless steel back (like these happen to be… image 5), then you may be okay. The steel will be against your skin and not the gold plating.

It should keep you from breaking out in a rash.

Just don’t break the stem.

Be careful when you’re snapping the watch cover back on. The little cut out in the lid needs to line up with the stem and crown of the watch (image 6). If not, you could bend the stem, break it off, or just keep it from turning the hands and setting the time.

All in all, for 6 bucks or so, these watches are cute, attractive, and will make people smile and laugh.

Besides, you can’t go wrong with frosty, can you?

Check out this cool Christmas watch here.

Cheers! :)