Happy Holidays from the Paizo Crew!

One of the maiar from Tolkein's Middle Earth to be exact.

There was Sauron the Black, Saruman the White, Radagast the Brown, the two Blue wizards (Alatar and Pallando or Morinehtar and Rómestámo, depending on which version of Tolkein's notes one is reading) and, of course, Gandalf the Grey. However, J.R.R. Tolkein was very frank about not being sure what really happened to the Blue wizards, “I really do not know anything clearly about the other two [wizards].” Therefore, I think it is very plausible that there might be a wizard of color that even the author himself was unaware: Santa the Red.

Let us now undertake to address the various issues of magic concerning Santa the Red:

( 1 ) How does he fit all of the toys of every child in the world in that one sack? It is an epic Bag of Holding. If you are unfamiliar with the vocabulary of Dungeons & Dragons, I hope that you are either a Potterhead who can think of Santa's sack like Hermione's purse in Deathly Hallows, or a Whovian and can content yourself, instead, with this truth of Santa Claus' sack: It is bigger on the inside.

( 2 ) How can he fit down chimneys? And what about people who don't even have a chimney? A first level reduce person spell gets him down chimneys. However, considering the power wielded by maiar, dimension door and passwall spells are far more likely. Yet, let us not discount the very real possibility that the simplest answer may be correct: He uses the Floo Network.

( 3 ) How do the reindeer fly? Flight is such a basic spell in so many fantasy worlds that this point doesn't really require explanation. Yet, in the interest of being thorough, I shall say that transfigured hippogriffs very much fit the bill. Though, to be fair, any magical beast capable of flight could be polymorphed into reindeer. Why change them? Hippogriffs, griffins, and dragons are terrifying creatures to behold and Santa the Red is visiting children; he needn't traumatize them unnecessarily.

As an aside, I find it conspicuous that there are nine reindeer (Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and, of course, Rudolph) and nine wraith kings (“nine for mortal men doomed to die”). Perhaps they are forced to do penance by being the beasts of burden for the last of the maiar in Middle Earth, literally bringing joy to children around the world. This theory is the author's own and completely unsubstantiated.

( 4 ) How can he visit every house in the world in one night? A Time Turner would allow this quite easily. But I must say that Santa's Sleigh bears a remarkable resemblance to the original Time Machine; it certainly doesn't look like a DeLorean, blue police box, or telephone booth!

But the true answer to question #4 is that he doesn't visit every house in one night (only few select people are in such need as to require a personal visit from Santa Claus [like the children in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe]). Santa Claus' true magic is in the global enchantment he casts upon the world.

Santa the Red charms the world into believing that they are him. Men dress as Santa Claus (more on appearances later) and claim to be him. They do not break character. If a group of Santas meet, or even just two, there isn't a single angry allegation of frauds or impostors. Indeed, all of the Santas gathered together get along amicably, all the while continuing to insist that they are the one, true Santa. And nary a one finds anything illogical about this. These men are so obviously mesmerized by Santa the Red's enchantment one wonders it hasn't been noticed before now.

Additionally, parents don't don the garb. They just spend their hard-earned money on nice, expensive presents, but write that they are from “Santa Claus” in their own hand-writing and give them to children who are old enough to know their parents' penmanship. Yet neither giver nor recipient bat an eyelash nor let on that the gift might not be from Santa Claus. Obviously, these people are ensorceled.

Furthermore, parents consume milk and cookies and purport that they were, in fact, consumed by Santa Claus. This error is more proof of Santa's global charm spell.

Now, let us consider the physical appearance of Santa the Red and compare him to that of other well-recognized wizards, namely Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Merlin, and Gandalf the Grey.

Merlin has a lengthy, white beard.
Dumbledore has a lengthy, white beard.
Gandalf has a lengthy, white beard.
Mitch Miller knew this back in 1960 when he sang:
“Who's got a beard that's long and white?
Santa's got a beard that's long and white.”

Merlin carries a staff.
Gandalf carries a staff.
True, Dumbledore favors the wand over the conventional staff. However, Dumbledore must hide among Muggles; his “staff” are the teachers at Hogwarts.
A google image search of “traditional Santa Claus” will yield many results showing Santa the Red with a staff.

So, finally, why is Santa the Red the only maiar still here on Middle Earth. Rather simple, he accepted the advent of the Age of Men when Ea (God) sent His only begotten Son to die for us. This, too, is reflected in song; specifically, in Gene Autry's 'Here Comes Santa Claus,' “Santa knows we're all God's children. That makes everything right.”

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night” – Santa the Red