The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 3 plus 4 letter word THE MAGI
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
T
H
E
M
A
G
I
More clues leading to the result THE MAGI
- Those bearing gifts to mother — encircled by pieces of eight
- Primarily, three hifalutin Easterners
- Anthem a girl used to keep bearers of gifts
- Those giving truly original Christmas presents
- Each half might have unpredictable outcome for visiting team from Orient
- Picture hard time going North for star’s followers
- Wise guys turning Italy match before half time
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "bearers of gifts" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case bearers of gifts = the magi.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.