The Teen Who Was Accidentally Invited To A Grandma’s Thanksgiving Is Returning For A Sixth Year
Wanda sent Jamal a text that was meant for her grandson in 2016 and the rest is (very wholesome) history.
Back in 2016, Wanda Dench accidentally text Jamal Hinton about Thanksgiving lunch, which resulted in a friendship that’s now going into its sixth year.
The whole thing started in 2016 when Wanda put Jamal in a group text that was meant for her grandson. At the time, Wanda sent a then-17-year-old Jamal the details for Thanksgiving lunch and listed everyone who would be in attendance.
Confused by the names listed, Jamal asked “who is those?” to which Wanda responded, “Your grandma”. But after exchanging selfies with each other, it was clear that there had been a mix-up.
“You not my grandma,” Jamal responded with laughing emojis. “Can I still get a plate tho?”
“Of course you can. That’s what grandma’s do… feed everyone,” Wanda responded with a cake emoji — and thus the holiday tradition was born.
View this post on Instagram
While most expected the funny exchange to end there, Jamal and Wanda have actually had a Thanksgiving meal together for the last five years, and the pair plan to do it again in 2021.
Flinging over a text to Jamal this year, Wanda invited the now 22-year-old, his girlfriend, and the Hinton family over for some “good food and great conversation”.
“It would bring me great joy if you, Mikaela, and your family would come to my house on Thanksgiving day to sharer good food and great conversation,” Wanda’s text read. “Your friend always, Wanda.”
Of course, Jamal was more than happy to accept the invitation and tweeted out the news to those who have followed the saga over the years: “We are all set for year six!”
In 24 hours, Jamal’s tweet was retweeted over 115,000 times and liked by more than one million people. As with previous years, people just couldn’t handle how a text to a wrong number could lead to such a wholesome friendship.
We are all set for year 6! ? pic.twitter.com/wEQioizWGd
— Jamal Hinton (@Jamalhinton12) November 14, 2021
Back in 2016, Jamal told People that Wanda and her husband, Lonnie, were very sweet and proof that “there are still some good people left in this world”.
“She is a very sweet lady, she told me her husband was a veteran and she always invited his friends over for dinner, so she’s used to having a lot of people over,” Jamal said at the time. “I just got a vibe from her that made me feel at home.”
Similarly, Wanda told NBC Nightly News that the pair immediately “clicked” when they first spoke, which made her want to get to know Jamal even more — and that is exactly what they have done over the years.
“We moved around a lot so I was always going to new places. And so strangers were not strangers to me,” Wanda told ABC News in 2019. “Family is more than blood. It’s the people you want to be with.”
Now with five Thanksgivings down — and a casual visit to a pumpkin patch together in 2019 — the Dench’s and Hinton’s relationship only grows stronger and stronger each year.
However, in April 2020 Lonnie sadly died from COVID-19 so his smiling face won’t be seen at the annual Thanksgiving meal this year. But at least Wanda will always have Jamal keen to celebrate the holidays with her — ready and waiting for one of his chosen grandma’s plates.
View this post on Instagram