From viral to Thanksgiving tradition: a decade of unlikely friendship
 |
| Credit: Green Giant |
Thanksgiving has a special significance this year. It's been 10 years since Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton first spent the holiday together, sparked by a wrong number and a viral text message exchange. Now the internet's favourite grandma and guest have issued their annual update, and as expected, it looks as though their unlikely friendship is still going strong.
SEE ALSO:Viral Thanksgiving grandma and guest share their eighth holiday with Airbnb stranger
Now 68 and 26, Dench and Hinton first met in 2016 after the former attempted to invite her grandson to Thanksgiving dinner via a text message. However, Dench was unaware that said grandson had recently changed his number, causing her invitation to be delivered to Hinton instead.
A 17-year-old teenager at the time, Hinton quickly cleared up the mix up, jokingly asking if he could come along and grab a plate as well.
Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $219.99 (List Price $249.00)
Apple iPad 11" 128GB Wi-Fi Retina Tablet (Blue, 2025 Release) — $274.00 (List Price $349.00)
Amazon Fire HD 10 32GB Tablet (2023 Release, Black) — $69.99 (List Price $139.99)
Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones — $248.00 (List Price $399.99)
Blink Outdoor 4 1080p Security Camera (5-Pack) — $159.99 (List Price $399.99)
Fire TV Stick 4K Streaming Device With Remote (2023 Model) — $24.99 (List Price $49.99)
Shark AV2511AE AI Robot Vacuum With XL Self-Empty Base — $249.99 (List Price $599.00)
Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS, 42mm, S/M Black Sport Band) — $339.00 (List Price $399.00)
WD 6TB My Passport USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive — $138.65 (List Price $179.99)
Dell 14 Premium Intel Ultra 7 512GB SSD 16GB RAM 2K Laptop — $999.99 (List Price $1549.99)
"Of course you can," Dench replied. "That's what grandma's [sic] do... feed every one."
The text exchange went viral after Hinton shared it on X (then Twitter), starting Dench and Hinton's decade-long tradition of spending Thanksgiving together. It has also become an internet tradition to check in on the duo simply to enjoy the good vibes. In fact, their Thanksgiving tradition has become so well-known that in 2021 Netflix announced that it is making a film based on their story.
Though Dench's X account was hacked a few years back, Hinton has dutifully continued to keep us posted on their Thanksgiving plans. This year, Hinton's update also included a photo of him and Dench together in 2016, recalling the year it all began. The pair's Thanksgiving meals have evolved since then, Dench and Hinton partnering with Green Giant canned vegetables for 2025's feast.
Seeing Hinton and Dench's Thanksgiving tradition continue is exactly the heartwarming update many were hoping for. Here's to many more.
I love this story! I am a firm believer of creating your own family when a biological family is not around! I invited a friend who had recently separated from her husband to have dinner with me as her family was 8 hours away. Unfortunately for me, she met a guy the night before and went to his family's house for dinner. She did not even call me to cancel but she lived 2 blocks away and I saw them drive off. I was stuck alone eating a 12 pound turkey and sides alone. I never have good luck with any functions in my home,no one comes.
ReplyDeleteIt's not my cooking as I went to cooking school and worked in several Denver restaurants in the 1990-2006 era. Just had bad company/friends.
DeleteI'm sorry that happened to you. :(
DeleteShe met someone the night before and was invited for Thanksgiving dinner with his family? Who invites a one night stand to have Thanksgiving with his family?
DeleteGod Bless you all
ReplyDeleteThey remind us that there is a lot of good in people and we must cultivate it. Many blessings to both families!
ReplyDeleteI love hearing that they still get together every T-day. I hope we can get a little follow up with a picture or few of the day of. Bless both families
ReplyDeleteThe Thanksgiving meal is linked to the murder of Indigenous people through the 1637 Pequot Massacre, when the governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony proclaimed a day of thanksgiving after the brutal slaughter of hundreds of Pequot men, women, and children.
ReplyDeleteThis event became a bloody precursor to centuries of violence, land theft, and displacement against Indigenous peoples.
Thanksgiving celebrations are now seen by many Indigenous people as a celebration of this violent history, while the National Day of Mourning has been established to remember the suffering endured by Native Americans.
We cannot pay for the sins our our fathers, but we can rescue something valuable and pass it on, like these two people reminding us that solidarity exists and it's a wonderful thing.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteYes, you can pay for the sins of your ancestors. The Bible/Scriptures say that whether you believe it or not!!!!!!!!!!!!;;;
DeleteIsaiah 14:21
King James Version
21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
OR
Revelation 13:9-10
King James Version
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
What a beautiful story.
ReplyDelete.....the world we would like to create..............beautiful
ReplyDeleteNice to see there are "normal" people in America too!
ReplyDeleteBEST story!
ReplyDeleteWanda Dench, 59, texts her grandson: “Thanksgiving dinner at my house, 3 p.m. Love you!”
ReplyDeleteWrong number.
Jamal Hinton, 17, replies: “Who this?”
Wanda: “Your grandma.”
Jamal sends a selfie.
Wanda: “You’re not my grandson… but you can still come. Grandmas feed everybody.”
He shows up with a store-bought pie and a grin. They laugh, eat turkey gets carved, photos get taken. Jamal tweets the story. The internet loses its mind.
One year later, Jamal texts: “You still inviting strangers?”
Wanda: “Only the good ones. 3 p.m.”
He comes. Then again the next year. And the next.
COVID takes Wanda’s husband. Cancer tries to take Wanda. The table gets smaller some years, bigger others. But Jamal is always there, pie in hand.
Ten plates, ten years, one accidental text.
Jamal raises his glass: “To the grandma I never had… and the one I got anyway.”
Wanda smiles, eyes wet. “To family you choose when the phone picks for you.”
They clink.
Outside, the world argues. Inside, the pumpkin pie is still warm
Thank y’all
i'm not crying...
DeleteThe way we be waiting for this pic every year
ReplyDeletehttps://imgur.com/a/er7TevB
Its honestly a modern day thanksgiving day tradition lol we literally have follow their story throughout the years
Delete🤔
DeleteAbsolutely! 🫶🏼
Delete💯 I thought it was just me lol
Delete😂😂
DeleteIn 2016, Wanda Dench accidentally texted teen Jamal Hinton inviting him to Thanksgiving, mistaking him for her grandson.
ReplyDeleteHe jokingly asked if he could still come, she said yes, and they met up. They've celebrated together every year since, forming a close friendship.
This year marks their 10th, despite challenges like Wanda's husband passing in 2020 and her 2024 breast cancer diagnosis.
PS: Happy Thanksgiving America 🎊
Oh nice
DeleteUnbelievable!
ReplyDeleteMy first time of coming across this news.
Are they now married?
Eager to know.
They are not married, lol that’s like her adopted son, she sent a wrong message to a wrong number
DeleteThank you.
DeleteI appreciate you
here’s some context for those who don’t know….Wanda was fighting breast cancer and she beat it. them being able to still celebrate on thanksgiving after all this time is actually a beautiful story
ReplyDeleteYes but her husband passed away 😔
DeleteTruly one of my fave stories. So happy to hear she beat it ❤️
DeleteYes but don’t forget their whole origin story!
Deleteplease i need the lore
DeleteShe was texting someone in her family but he got the text. He said something like “I think you have the wrong number but can I get a plate?” So he’s become like a family member- spends every Thanksgiving w them
Deletehttps://x.com/nypost/status/1993809805757063299
DeleteYeah I was going to say talk about burying the lede...the beginning is the best part.
DeleteShe beat breast cancer, her husband passed away at some point as well. Really sad all around, so happy for them to still be doing this!
Delete10 years already?! This story still puts the biggest smile on my face every Thanksgiving Happy anniversary to both!
ReplyDeleteThis tradition needs to continue forever 🥹❤️
ReplyDeleteWow, that’s such a fantastic and nostalgic throwback
ReplyDeleteHow time flies. I remember how this happened a few years back.
ReplyDeleteIt’s been 10years
DeleteRIP to the Pops
ReplyDeleteHis dad is not dead moron
DeleteFucking retard
DeleteHer husband passed in 2020. That’s who he’s referring to dumbass
DeleteWen 11 years later
ReplyDeleteNo freakin way yall still doing this?! I remember the first post going viral 🤣🔥 Naw this is the definition of wholesome.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to this update every year!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favorite holiday traditions.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite stories ever 🙏🙏💕💕
ReplyDeleteAnd that could in the next 10 years
DeleteI’ve been waiting for this update!
ReplyDeleteNo freakin way yall still doing this?! I remember the first post going viral 🤣🔥 Naw this is the definition of wholesome.
ReplyDelete🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
ReplyDeletethis will always spark joy
ReplyDeleteThis is very very sweet
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely no way y’al still doing this. I remember this story about 7yrs ago. I wonder if she ever found her grandson though… or she just moved on with him.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving!
Always like seeing the yearly update from them... I know the grandpa passed a couple years ago
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving to the duo that accidentally became America’s favorite holiday tradition. 2016–2026… the sequel we never knew we needed, every single year. 🦃❣️
ReplyDeleteI love this! The wholesomeness and positivity is exactly what I needed to see to end my Thanksgiving! Hope both had a nice Thanksgiving and God Bless! ❤️
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving
DeleteAnd that could be us in the next -10 years
Happy Thanksgiving
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/cJLXmLWJrbo
ReplyDeleteMan, that makes me stoked he still droppin through on Thanksgiving!!!
ReplyDeleteHe’s hosting this year!
DeleteNow that's a proper gentleman! GG!!!
DeleteThat's sooo wholesome 😔❤️
ReplyDeleteNothing ever beats this story. The fact its still going is amazing
ReplyDeleteIt's stories like these that make me pay for my internet; they restore my faith in humanity
ReplyDeletewholesome asf
ReplyDeleteI love everything about this story and I hope it continues for years to come! ❤️
ReplyDeleteYou look really stunning, do you mind we get to know each other
DeleteEvery year I hope they going to do it again and here we are!
ReplyDeleteY'all are my favourite thing about American Thanksgiving. <3
ReplyDeleteLet recreate this , promise that it will be interesting
Deletethis story is everything 🥹
ReplyDeletelove it for both parties 💕
I have been following their story for a while, thank God for keeping you guys safe.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving.
🥰
ReplyDeleteEpic.
ReplyDeleteThis is just too cool.
ReplyDeleteI been following their story for long. I’m so happy to see this
ReplyDeleteThey are my favorite every year
ReplyDelete❤️
ReplyDeleteLove that! I need to start taking more of my family and friends' pictures 📸
ReplyDelete🥹🥹🥹
ReplyDeleteThat’s one kind lady
ReplyDeleteGod bless both and Happy Thanksgiving to you all
My favorite tradition!!
ReplyDeleteOnly real ones know 💯
ReplyDeleteLove yall 😭
ReplyDeleteGrandma's aging so well. Very impressive
ReplyDeleteLove seeing this every year. 😍😍
ReplyDeleteI was waiting to see this🫶
ReplyDelete10 years, that’s a decade. Long way
ReplyDeleteSo wholesome 🥺🥰
ReplyDeleteI wait for this every year
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving
ReplyDelete10 years of friendship, Real Love is what I see in this photos
ReplyDeleteHappy thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteJamal, is lucky man!
No lie I love seeing this
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool story I hope you guys had an amazing thanksgiving!