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

Screenshot of Sanae Takaichi and Donald Trump
MS Now

Room Goes Silent After Trump Makes Super Tone-Deaf Joke To Japanese Prime Minister About Pearl Harbor In Shocking Video

The audience in the Oval Office went silent after President Donald Trump made a tone-deaf joke about the attack on Pearl Harbor to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi following a question about why he kept his attack on Iran a "surprise."

Trump was wrapping up a Q&A with reporters during a bilateral meeting with Takaichi when a Japanese journalist pressed him on why key allies—like Japan—were not notified ahead of the attack on Iran on February 28.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshots from @torimosser's TikTok video
@torimosser/TikTok

Woman Says Stranger On TikTok Helped Save Her Life After Dangerous Medical Misdiagnosis

It is far too common for women's health concerns to be dismissed in the United States, especially when it comes to chronic conditions and pain levels.

Diagnosed with several chronic conditions, 23-year-old TikToker Tori Mosser reflected on years of painful stomach cramps and painful episodes when she finally was able to share that she'd received a diagnosis: Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS).

Keep Reading Show less
Images from u/South-Basket-887's post in the 'Mildly Infuriating' subReddit
u/South-Basket-887/Reddit

Landlord Sparks Debate After Warning Tenant About Leaving Small Appliances Plugged In

Many of us have had to live in a rented space at some point in our lives and had to deal with landlords, some of whom can be very imposing and let the power of having tenants go to their heads.

But most of us probably didn't receive special notes from our landlords detailing the little observations they noticed about our lifestyles while doing a surprise inspection.

Keep Reading Show less
Mark Zuckerberg
Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

Meta Is Shutting Down Its VR 'Metaverse' After Spending An Obscene Amount Of Money Building It—And People Are Roasting Mark Zuckerberg Hard

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was roasted online after Meta announced they'll be shutting down Horizon Worlds, part of their virtual reality "Metaverse," this summer after spending close to $80 billion on the project.

The news comes five years after Zuckerberg declared the metaverse to be the future of Facebook, even renaming the company Meta to reflect that vision. In recent months, Meta cut roughly 10% of the workforce in its "metaverse" division and signaled a shift away from virtual reality for its flagship platform, Horizon Worlds, where users interact through avatars.

Keep Reading Show less
Screenshots of Rand Paul and Markwayne Mullin
C-SPAN3

Video Of GOP Senator Picking A Fight With A Witness Replayed During Contentious Senate Confirmation Hearing

Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul confronted his GOP colleague, Oklahoma's Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump's pick for Secretary of Homeland Security, over his "anger issues," even presenting video evidence.

Earlier this month, Trump announced he will replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary with Mullin. Trump said Noem will instead take on the role of Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas, a newly created organization intended to foster a right-wing alliance across South America.

Keep Reading Show less