Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

'Thanksgiving Grandma' Who Accidentally Texted Stranger Spends 8th Holiday With Him

Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench
@Jamalhinton12/X

Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton, along with a special Airbnb guest, spent their 8th Thanksgiving together after Dench sent a viral text in 2016 to Hinton mistakenly thinking he was her grandson.

One of our favorite Thanksgiving tradition continues...

No, it's not waking up early to catch the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade or Googling "how to stream A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving this year." It's not even the food or football.


It's the annual Thanksgiving reunion of two strangers who found each other through an accidental text eight years ago.

In 2016, Wanda Dench thought she'd sent a text to her grandson inviting him to Thanksgiving dinner. The message, however, was actually sent to Jamal Hinton, an absolute stranger, who let Dench know she texted the wrong number.

He jokingly added:

"Can I still get a plate tho?"

And the rest is history.

Hinton did attend Dench's—a.k.a. "Thanksgiving Grandma's"—holiday dinner that year, as well as every Thanksgiving after that.

This year marks their eighth anniversary, and it seems as though this one was as lovely as the rest.

Hinton took to X to share a photo of the annual get together, this time joined by an Airbnb guest.

Hinton and Dench also collaborated on an Instagram post featuring their "year 8 selfie."

They also thanked their Airbnb guest Arseni in the caption:

"Our year 8 selfie 🧡 Thanks for staying with us, Arseni, and for being part of the good in the world this holiday season #airbnbpartner"

Dench and Hinton partnered with Airbnb for a special promotion celebrating their anniversary by pricing a one-night stay for two guests at just $16, a nod to the year they met.

They wrote on Instagram ahead of the holiday:

"To celebrate our eighth Thanksgiving together (yes, eight!), we’re partnering with @airbnb this year to host a couple extra seats at our table 🦃."

People on social media are still as smitten with this story as they were in 2016.













Earlier this month, Hinton told PEOPLE that he loves sharing his story with others.

“It's always amazing to meet someone and talk to them for a couple minutes when you're out, or if anyone recognizes me from a Thanksgiving story or anything like that."
“But to be able to sit down and actually talk to them for a full day, and especially sometimes with no media around or to really just get to know each other, I think that that's going to be a beautiful friendship that can continue for years, kind of like me and Wanda."

It is a beautiful story—and we're officially counting down the days until next Thanksgiving.

More from Trending

Paramount logo on water tower; Donald Trump
Mario Tama/Getty Images; Allison Robbert/Getty Images

Someone Hacked Paramount's X Account And Brutally Changed Their Bio Over Chummy Relationship With Trump

People are simply nodding their heads after the bio on Paramount Pictures' X account was briefly changed on Tuesday following several recent incidents of the company catering to the whims and demands of President Donald Trump.

Paramount Pictures’ X account, followed by nearly 3.5 million users, was hacked at a moment of major upheaval for the company.

Keep ReadingShow less
Mike and Will share a quiet moment in Stranger Things, the very PG-13 show Jeff Younger somehow insists “turns into gay porn.”
Stranger Things / Netflix

MAGA Bro Dragged After Canceling His Netflix Because Every Show 'Turns Into Gay P*rn'

Netflix streams a lot of things—superheroes, serial killers, The Great British Bake Off meltdowns—but covert gay porn is not one of them. Still, Jeff Younger insists otherwise, proudly announcing that he rage-canceled his subscription because every show “turns into gay porn.”

Bless his heart… and his search bar confusion.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jenna Bush Hager and Brooke Shields
TODAY with Jenna & Friends/YouTube

Brooke Shields Has Hilarious Reaction After She's Given Awkwardly Short Chair On 'Today' Show

People who have not performed in front of a live audience might assume that adequate rehearsal time and production planning ensure things will go smoothly.

But seasoned performers will tell you that mistakes happen, no matter how well-rehearsed or fine-tuned the project is. When the mistake is obvious enough that the audience becomes aware of it, the best thing to do is laugh it off or incorporate the mistake into the program as much as possible to keep the show going.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Pete Hegseth
@SecWar/X

Pete Hegseth Gets Blunt Reminder After Claiming That AI Is The 'Future Of American Warfare'

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was criticized after he announced in a new video that the U.S. military is going to be integrating artificial intelligence to make soldiers "more lethal than ever before," a move that has been described as "one of the first mass deployments of a commercially-created generative AI tool across the entire Pentagon."

The Defense Department announced Tuesday that it will roll out Gemini for Government via its new GenAI.mil platform, allowing employees to access the tool directly from their work computers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump speaking at a Pennsylvania MAGA rally

Trump Ripped After Telling MAGA Fans Why Higher Prices Are Actually A Good Thing This Christmas

On Tuesday, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump held a rally at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania.

Facing pressure over the average MAGA voters' cost-of-living concerns that knocked Trump's approval ratings down to the lowest numbers of his second term, the POTUS returned to his MAGA rallies to try to bolster support.

Keep ReadingShow less