Our elf has written his name back to front. He thinks he has created an extremely tricky mystery. 🪞
The card says “FLE”, and a second note suggests “Try a mirror.”
This easy elf idea leaves a short reflection puzzle for the morning, using three big letters.
What you’ll need:
- One official Elf on the Shelf doll (paid link)
- A hand mirror
- Two small pieces of paper
- A thick pen and a folded cloth
Setup:
Write FLE in large capital letters on a card. F, L and E appear in that order, although the letters themselves can be written normally. Sit your elf against a folded cloth and leave the card in front of him, with a hand mirror lying flat nearby and the “Try a mirror” note alongside it. Test the arrangement yourself before the morning: hold the mirror upright beside the card so you can see the writing reflected, then look at the reflected letter order. The order will spell ELF, with the individual letters reversed in the reflection. The mirror is just waiting on the table in the overnight scene; it does not need to show the solution already. In the morning, help the children move it into position and investigate what happens to the letter order.
Use what you have:
Borrow a hand mirror or use an existing dressing-table mirror with an adult holding the card beside it. You can also skip the mirror and challenge the children to read FLE from right to left. For a harder version, write a short word backwards and let them work it out.
Try the secret-code arrival or the wax-resist secret message for another elf scene.
