Santa Claus attacked by bat-riding Goblins? With J.R.R. Tolkien, anything is possible. Recently my sixth grade daughter — a huge fan of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” — read a compilation of Christmas letters written by the great English fiction writer.

A loving and creative father, Tolkien wrote his children each Christmas about the on-goings and antics of Santa, or Father Christmas, as he is known in England.