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

Katie Couric; Melania Trump
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for The Michael J. Fox Foundation; Charly Triballeau/AFP via Getty Images

Katie Couric Has Hilariously Shady 1-Word Response To Clip Of Melania Singing In Her Documentary

Finding great moments from the Melania Trump vanity project, her self-titled documentary, may prove difficult. Largely described as a $75 million dollar bribe—$45 million to make and $30 million to market—from Amazon's Jeff Bezos to MAGA Republican President Donald Trump, the film was a bomb at the box office and savaged by critics.

This was despite suspicious bulk ticket purchases during Melania's opening weekend and review bombing by Trump's MAGA minions to try to prop up the film that followed Melania Trump around as she tried to pick out clothes in the 20 days leading up to Trump's second inauguration.

Keep Reading Show less
Person with MAGA hat
Alishia Abodunde/Getty Images

An Older MAGA Voter's Rant About How Prices Are Going Up Due To Trump Is Getting Epically Skewered

Keith Pedersen, a senior Trump voter, went viral after sharing on Facebook his complaints about how prices for gas, groceries and other essentials are going up under President Trump—and has received some very unsympathetic responses.

In January, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claimed that food prices were coming down, even as the Consumer Price Index shows grocery costs rose 0.7% in December. Beef, which Rollins elevated near the top of the food pyramid in the dietary guidelines she recently unveiled, increased 1% over the month and was up 16.4% compared with a year earlier.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshots of Brooks Potteiger and Joshua Haymes; James Talarico
@RightWingWatch/X (left and center); Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images (right)

Pete Hegseth's Pastor Prays With MAGA Podcaster That 'God Kills' James Talarico In Bonkers Video

MAGA podcaster Joshua Haymes and pastor Brooks Potteiger—who counts Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth among his congregants—sparked anger after they prayed that "God kills" Texas Senate nominee James Talarico.

Earlier this month, Talarico pulled off an upset against Texas Democratic Representative Jasmine Crockett, who has urged Democrats to support his candidacy as the 2026 midterm season kicks off.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshots from video of crosswalk playing anti-Trump messages
@imfromdenver/Instagram

Someone Hacked Crosswalks In Denver To Play Hilariously NSFW Anti-Trump Messages—And It's Brilliant

Hackers changed the messages on some newly-installed crosswalks in Denver, Colorado, to play messages criticizing President Donald Trump—to the delight of anti-Trumpers.

The crosswalk push-buttons were newly installed and “still bagged,” operating on factory settings that included a default password easily found online, according to Nancy Kuhn of the Denver Department of Transportation and Infrastructure. She said the password has now been changed and officials “don’t expect a repeat situation" at these locations.

Keep Reading Show less
The real cast of "Friends": Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and David Schwimmer.
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

An AI Video About Who Would Star In 'Friends' If It Was Cast Today Has Everyone Completely Puzzled

“I’ll be there for you”… except, wait—why is that person playing Chandler Bing? That’s the question viewers kept asking after an AI fan video of Friends began circulating online with some very questionable casting choices.

In a repost by @SweetTexanRose, the user summed up the confusion:

Keep Reading Show less