Half the fun of this one happens before it is squeezed. The glitter dumpling is sold as a mystery: you order one and the colour is chosen at random from pink, purple, blue, green, yellow and gold. Children who collect squishies love the reveal, and it makes a good small gift because nobody can say they already have that colour.

Each dumpling is about 5.5 cm across, shaped like a pleated steamed bun with a tiny smiling face and pink blush marks, and it arrives sitting in its own bamboo-style steamer container with a lid, about 7 cm across. It is filled with glitter, and the photographs show the two finishes it comes in: a clear body packed with chunky sequin flakes that catch the light, and a denser body where fine glitter makes the whole surface sparkle.

The body is soft TPR, so it squashes under the fingers and gathers back into its bun shape when let go. The glitter shifts around inside as it moves, which is what keeps hands coming back to it. It is small enough for a pencil pouch or a blazer pocket and makes no noise.

This is the smaller, sparkly cousin of our swirl dumpling squishy. Both come with a steamer-style container, but the swirl one is bigger at 8.5 cm, has a patterned rather than glitter body and a bright yellow case, and you can ask for its colour. Choose this one for the surprise and the shine; choose the swirl one for a bigger squeeze.

Glitter-filled squishies soften in heat, so keep it away from direct sun and a hot car. It is a toy, not food, and at 5.5 cm it is small enough to be a choking risk for toddlers, so it is for children aged three and up.

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