For the second season in a row, we're counting down the crucial pre-Christmas shopping days with a series called Gifted Givers, in which friends old and new share their thoughts on stylishly spirited giving and receiving. New this year: the Pop-In@Nordstrom x Opening Ceremony Holiday Shop edition.

Because there's just so much music out there on ye olde Internet, it helps to have editors you trust narrowing things down. To that end, The Le Sigh is a fantastic blog which highlights women in music and art. It's where we first heard about some of our current favorite bands-like Girlpool, Slutever and Adult Mom, all worth typing into your search engine if you like cassette-fidelity music with a feminist bent-and so we offer a hearty thanks to music editor Emily Thompson.

Below, Thompson talks to us about emotional gifting, exploring the Playmobil universe and Consumer Reports.

Shop: Pop-In@Nordstrom x Opening Ceremony Holiday Shop

The Thread: What stands out as the best gift you've ever given?

This is tough but the best, most emotional gift I've given wasn't even for a holiday. My high school boyfriend was going to college and I made him this really "meaningful" mix of like all Rilo Kiley songs, because I was a 16-year-old with too many feelings, and this really pretty collage that I spent hours making. He was a pretty huge bro and I wasn't sure how much he appreciated it but he recently told me he still has it!

What's the best gift you've ever received?

This is super random but for my sixth birthday I got an insane Playmobil dollhouse and I remember being unbelievably stoked on this gift. I went through a phase in my tweens where I was a big brat about gifts and I think I scared my parents out of surprising me. Honestly, I can probably remember the worst gifts I've gotten better than the best. This includes a U2 and Michael Bublé CD at my cousin's annual Yankee Swap, a copy of Consumer Reports from my dad, and two ugly, silver-painted cups from an ex-boyfriend.

Do you have a holiday shopping strategy? Do you make plans and spread sheets, or fly by the seat of your pants at the last possible minute?

I'm really unorganized for being a Virgo and basically save everything to the last minute. I usually end up at the mall like the day before Christmas Eve trying to scramble last minute gifts together for my family. I think sometimes my brother and I just end up getting ourselves gifts that we want and pretend we gave them to each other. Weak.

What's the weirdest or most extreme thing you've ever done to create or secure the perfect gift?

The most extreme thing I've done before is some intense eBay searching and bidding for a used boombox that I gave to my ex-boyfriend for Christmas a couple of years ago-which he wanted to use for home recording. I don't know anything about recording music so I had to search forever to find one that would be good, which I found via an old interview with the guy from the Mountain Goats.

What is "the perfect gift," anyway? What makes for the ultimate in giving or receiving?

Honestly, I think unexpected gifts are the perfect gifts! I really think there's too much pressure and expectations surrounding holidays and birthdays-not that you shouldn't give gifts then-that there is so much room for disappointment. But in the past I've received and given gifts out of nowhere that were better than any major gift I got for a holiday or birthday. For example, my ex-boyfriend got me Taylor Swift's 1989 on vinyl for no special occasion and it made me happy to just known he saw that and thought of me enough to give it as a random present. Maybe I'm just super selfish, though, and want gifts all the time!

What would you get for your BFF?

I have a lot of serious BFFs and I wish I could shower them all in gifts. Alas, I'm not made of money. My best friend (Diana Cirullo, whom I do The Le Sigh with) and I have been friends for 10-plus years, and now that we're adults we take each other to a nice dinner for our birthdays and special occasions and binge on fancy cheese and Prosecco. I highly recommend that as a best friend gift. Or, she recently bought us these best friend pins from artist Penelope Gazin. It's a pretty accurate summary of our friendship.

Feel free to allow us to alert your friends and family in this very public format: what would you love to unwrap this year?

In my dreams I would love to unwrap a vintage Chanel bag, the opportunity to meet Drake, and perfect sixties Nancy Sinatra hair. Since none of those are probably feasible any time soon, I would say some new Wolford tights.Or a . Love a good jumpsuit.

Shop: Pop-In@Nordstrom x Opening Ceremony Holiday Shop