Nickolai
The titular hero, who searches for his homeland and family near the North Pole.
- Badass Santa: Even though he doesn't become Santa per se until the end.
- Moses in the Bulrushes: Saved by Ella and afterwards by Comet, he is carried off to be raised in the poor town of Norsk.
- Sole Survivor: The only elf who survives Magda's attack, when he is only a toddler. He is not the sole survivor of them all, since Elvina makes it too.
- Took a Level in Cheerfulness: He has to face all sorts of problems from school bullies to Magda. Afterwards, as Santa, he is described as an incredibly jolly old man.
- Training the Gift of Magic: He is extremely talented with the elves' magnetic magic, but he works hard in the book to train it to perfection. Even then, he is nearly killed by Magda in the climax and survives thanks to Elvina.
Elvina
Nickolai's Light Fairy.
Anneka
Nickolai's best friend.
Louise
Anneka's little sister.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: She is a nice child overall but can be tactless sometimes, and in the Golden City it takes her a while to figure Magda is really not a good witch.
Zak
An Inuit boy who joins Nickolai, Anneka and Louise in their journey to the Golden City.
- Free-Range Children: He stays in the North with his grandfather when his parents migrate to the south, but becomes this trope when his grandfather dies.
Finn
A hot-blooded bully from Nickolai's school.
- Bully Turned Buddy: Zig-zagged. Nickolai manages to befriend him in Norsk, but Finn never really lets go of his bullying and cheating ways, and once he is in the Golden City and gets brainwashed by Magda, he becomes even worse than he was before. Once Magda is defeated, though, things change once again.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: His career goes up like lightning in the Golden City after Magda steals his childhood, and he eventually manages to win the title of prince. As Anneka puts it, she'd rather he stayed a simple bully.
Magda
Formerly an elf who was banished to the Earth's core for practicing dark magic. Now a hideous witch who is desperate to be beautiful again and rule the world.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Her eyes have gone black after years of dealing with the dark arts.
- Fairest of Them All: She wants world domination all right, but she also wants to be a perfect beauty. Justified, since, after her exile, she has become hideous.
- Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Her beautiful form looks like this.
- Vain Sorceress: She mainly wants: a) herself to be eternally young and beautiful; b) everyone around to gush over her beauty.
Volpo
Magda's chief supporter and the second most powerful one in the Golden City. He is able to control wolves and see through their eyes.
Skank and Skism
Formerly an elf who couldn't decide whether he should follow Magda or not, now a pair of conjoined goblin twins. The chief of police in the Golden City.
- Helpless Good Side: Skism isn't so bad, but has to bend to Skank's will.
- Literal Split Personality: Complete with a split body.
- Pet the Dog: Skism has several moments of it, speaking kindly to the newly arrived children or trying to protect other goblins from Skank's wrath.
Joe and Hannah
Nickolai's foster parents.
Ella
Nickolai's birth mother, she gets turned to stone when her Light Fairy is sucked into Magda's heart.
- Silk Hiding Steel: She looks thin and fragile, but has an iron will. It shows when she becomes not just the first woman to take part in the annual sleigh races, but the first woman to win them.
Comet
The flying reindeer who saves Nickolai’s life.
- Only Sane Man: Often acts as the voice of reason of the tribe, between her husband’s strictness and the young reindeer’s carelessness.
