Crossword Genius

Now is the time to make a gift (7,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

present day

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'now' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'the time to make a gift' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found within the answer.
'time' could be 'day' (day is a kind of time) and 'day' is found in the answer.
'gift' could be 'presen' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'presen' is found within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'is' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for present day that I've seen before include "occasion for lots of give and take?" , "Contemporary" , "Current" , "Christmas for materialists?" , "twenty-fifth of December?" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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