Men often say something like, “Please don’t get me anything this year” when what they really mean is “If you’re going to get me something this year, make it special”. But also: “You shouldn’t have” when what they really mean is “You shouldn’t have”. Which makes sourcing a gift not the easiest of tasks. How do you know what to get them when all they give you is mixed messages?

Not that men themselves necessarily acknowledge or are even aware of this cognitive dissonance. “I’ve been told I’m difficult to buy for, but I find buying things very easy,” as the restauranteur Dom Hamdy told us.

You might know Hamdy. He’s the guy behind London fixtures Crispin, Bar Crispin and Bistro Freddie, and a stalwart of the city’s dining scene. But would you know him well enough to buy him a gift he would actually want? Would anyone?

“My brother is very easy to buy gifts for,” the Bafta-winning actor, writer and comedian Mawaan Rizwan shares. “But I’ve got another friend who, I couldn’t tell you what his favourite colour is or what brings him any pleasure.” And this is the dilemma many of us face.

To that end, we’ve enlisted four men to help us better understand their kind. You could call them the four wise men if you were feeling generous – and at this time of year, we always are. In this video, you’ll also glean advice from Mickey Down, the former investment banker who went on to pen the charged HBO series Industry (which, in turn starred Rizwan’s aforementioned brother, Nabhaan). As well as Harry Weller, the creative director who helms the artist Tracey Emin’s studio.

They’re all here to tell you that while we men can be difficult, and even more difficult to buy for, MR PORTER is there to make life that little bit easier. There’s our industry-leading (oh, and Industry-leading) curation of clothes, shoes and accessories from the world’s best designers. Then there’s the top-notch customer service.

For serious wow factor, you can select gift packaging when you purchase your items and receive them in MR PORTER’s iconic white box – the “gift-wrap jobbie”, as Weller has it. You can find the full list of last-shipment dates, depending on where you live, here [link TK], with an extended returns period to cover you, should you be taking a punt. Plus, there’s next-day delivery options for London and New York. (Not that you should leave it to the last minute.)

But the end-of-level boss of this whole gifting exercise is the man himself. “Putting your style on someone else, unless you know them really, really well is quite tricky,” as Down highlights. Once again, MR PORTER has the answer. You can’t read their mind, but you can read their Wish List. And now the man you’re buying for can share it with you – so you can make their wish come true.