Apalpador
Adds the traditional Galician Christmas character "Apalpador" to your WordPress site with festive visual effects.
Use with caution
Apalpador works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 10 months ago, and scores 45/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.9 (latest is 7.1)
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Apalpador stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| apalpador | #1 |
| christmas | #65 |
| decoration | #29 |
| galicia | #1 |
| snow | #40 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
About Apalpador
From the official readme · v2.0.0Description
The Apalpador is a traditional Galician Christmas figure, a charcoal maker who comes down from the mountains on the night of December 31st to check if children have eaten well during the year by touching their bellies.
This plugin places the Apalpador figure on your WordPress pages with festive visual effects including:
- Customizable Apalpador image and position
- Entry, idle, and click animations
- Snow effect with configurable density
- Shooting star effect
Features
- Easy to configure through WordPress admin
- Date range settings to show only during the holiday season
- Multiple animation options
- Performance optimized
- Respects user accessibility preferences (prefers-reduced-motion)
- Compatible with WooCommerce (disabled on cart/checkout)
Installation
- Upload the
apalpadorfolder to the/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Go to ‘Apalpador’ in the admin menu to configure settings
Frequently asked questions
When does the Apalpador appear?
By default, the Apalpador appears from December 1st to January 6th. You can customize these dates in the plugin settings.
Can I use my own image?
Yes! You can upload your own image through the WordPress media library in the plugin settings.
Does it work with caching plugins?
Yes, the plugin is designed to be compatible with caching systems.
Changelog
Complete rewrite with new features. Previous settings will be reset.
2.0.0
- Complete rewrite of the plugin
- New admin interface with Settings API
- Added entry, idle, and click animations
- Added snow effect
- Added shooting star effect
- Improved performance and caching compatibility
- Added accessibility support (prefers-reduced-motion)
- WooCommerce compatibility (disabled on cart/checkout)
1.0.0
- Initial release (2019)
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
Apalpador: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 7, 2026
Is Apalpador free?
Yes. Apalpador is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Apalpador safe to use in 2026?
Apalpador works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 10+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 10 months ago, and scores 45/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Apalpador?
Apalpador is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 391 times since it launched in December 2025. It was downloaded 49 times in the last 30 days.
Does Apalpador work with WordPress 7.1?
Apalpador is officially tested up to WordPress 6.9.10, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Apalpador need?
Apalpador requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Apalpador last updated?
The latest version, 2.0.0, was released on December 26, 2025 (10 months ago).
Who makes Apalpador?
Apalpador is developed and maintained by Anxo Sánchez.
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