is the mom-at-home entrepreneur who owns and is developing First Christmas. A native of the suburbs of Washington, D.C., she is the mother of five girls and three boys and the grandmother of nine.

As a young mom and volunteer, she co-founded a food cooperative, a small private school, and a national support group and publication for mothers. For the past 20 years, she has freelanced as a professional editor. She is the co-author of two books, including What's A Smart Woman Like You Doing at Home? She recently finished the college degree she interrupted many year ago to be home with her children, so she now has a BA in French with an Anthropology minor. She loves to read (biographies and history); she used to dance; and she enjoys a good discussion with people of all backgrounds and ages. She is married to Scott, her friend and favorite philosopher.

While still in college earning her BFA, Stefanie Eskander accepted her first assignment for a children's magazine, eventually illustrating for 10 years at publications like Humpty Dumpty, Turtle, and Children's Digest magazines. Working for Grey Advertising in Los Angeles indirectly led her to her current career as a toy designer. She has worked for many major toy companies, including Mattel, Hasbro, Playskool, Tonka, Fisher-Price, and currently Spin Master Toys. During her freelance years, she developed computer design skills that have also led to work as a graphic designer and digital scrapbook designer.

Stefanie and her husband, Bruce, have four children and two grandsons. For fun, she plays autoharp, guitar, banjo, and hammered dulcimer in an all-woman bluegrass band called the Boney Mountain Mamas. Some of Stefanie’s work can be seen in our Gallery, and she created “Manger Scene,” our first design to be printed on a roll.