Strangers who began spending Thanksgiving together after accidental text now ready for 8th celebration

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate with loved ones and appreciate the blessings of life along with the kindness given by others. It is a time to acknowledge and share love. While most people celebrate with their immediate families, Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton took things up a notch 7 years ago when they accidentally connected to celebrate the popular holiday. What happened to be a text mix-up turned out to become a wholesome tradition that is soon to mark its 8th anniversary. USA Today reported that this year, the duo has something special in mind to increase the tribe and add to the joyous pomp. 

To give a little background, Dench intended to invite her grandson over for Thanksgiving back in 2016 via text. However, she accidentally messaged teenage Hinton instead. While the confusion cleared up, Hinton joked about coming over anyway and Dench was more than obliged. Ever since, the duo shared a mesmerizing Thanksgiving every year bonding and appreciating each other. To take things to another level this year, Dench has decided to invite more people to become a part of the celebration. In her post on Instagram she wrote, “To celebrate our eighth Thanksgiving together (yes, eight!), we’re partnering with Airbnb this year to host a couple extra seats at our table.”

Now 24-year-old Hinton says, “I said from the start of our first Thanksgiving that I always wanted to have more people join our Thanksgiving and be able to celebrate with us and have the amount of fun that we have together.” The idea couldn’t be more simple yet intriguing. Anyone over the age of 18 with a verified profile is welcome to make a booking and reserve a seat for the epic Thanksgiving dinner. The duo has much in mind to make the holiday a blissful and undoubtedly scrumptious one. Along with the big old turkey and other dishes, 66-year-old Wench has more in mind. “I used to make good pumpkin pie, but Costco can do it better than me, so we’re having my favorite Costco pumpkin pie,” she said.

Other than a cozy room and meal, there are board games, hot cocoa and cider and much warmth to pick and share. After marking seven wonderful years together, the duo is set to give their eighth year a new taste. Hinton and Dench are looking forward to the newbies with much love and open hearts. “For me, it’s always the great conversations. I mean, me and Wanda, we talk about anything. We talk about tattoos, we talk about conspiracies that we think of, we talk about our families, we talk about our goals and our future and things that we want to accomplish and do,” shared Hinton. 

There seems no other wholesome way to celebrate Thanksgiving by truly being grateful for the relationships of life and sharing them with others! The duo have truly gotten intertwined into each other’s lives and find it remarkable to have stumbled upon something so wonderful. Hinton and Dench have truly embraced the definition of Thanksgiving and they hope that this year, many others will receive the privilege of having new relationships and memories to create and hold on to.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 7, 2023. It has since been updated.