Thanksgiving has a special significance this year. It's been 10 years since Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton first spent the holiday together, sparked by a wrong number and a viral text message exchange. Now the internet's favourite grandma and guest have issued their annual update, and as expected, it looks as though their unlikely friendship is still going strong.
Now 68 and 26, Dench and Hinton first met in 2016 after the former attempted to invite her grandson to Thanksgiving dinner via a text message. However, Dench was unaware that said grandson had recently changed his number, causing her invitation to be delivered to Hinton instead.
A 17-year-old teenager at the time, Hinton quickly cleared up the mix up, jokingly asking if he could come along and grab a plate as well.
"Of course you can," Dench replied. "That's what grandma's [sic] do... feed every one."
The text exchange went viral after Hinton shared it on X (then Twitter), starting Dench and Hinton's decade-long tradition of spending Thanksgiving together. It has also become an internet tradition to check in on the duo simply to enjoy the good vibes. In fact, their Thanksgiving tradition has become so well-known that in 2021 Netflix announced that it is making a film based on their story.
Though Dench's X account was hacked a few years back, Hinton has dutifully continued to keep us posted on their Thanksgiving plans. This year, Hinton's update also included a photo of him and Dench together in 2016, recalling the year it all began. The pair's Thanksgiving meals have evolved since then, Dench and Hinton partnering with Green Giant canned vegetables for 2025's feast.
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Seeing Hinton and Dench's Thanksgiving tradition continue is exactly the heartwarming update many were hoping for. Here's to many more.