Grandma And ‘Stranger’ Shared 7th Thanksgiving Together After She Accidentally Sent Him An Invitation Years Ago

The world is not in a good place right now, which makes moments like Thanksgiving (and this time of the year in general with the Christmas season just around the corner) all the more meaningful.

Something that also makes Thanksgiving all the more meaningful (so, meaningful to the second power) is that one accidental text that led to a prosperous relationship that’s being celebrated for the 7th time right now.

Yep, it’s that time of the year where we check up on the internet’s favorite Thanksgiving grandma and her “grandson”, Wanda and Jamal.

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Yep, it’s that time of the year where we check up on the internet’s favorite Thanksgiving grandma and her “grandson”, Wanda and Jamal

Grandma And ‘Stranger’ Shared 7th Thanksgiving Together After She Accidentally Sent Him An Invitation Years Ago

Image credits: Jamalhinton12

If you’ve been on Bored Panda (or the internet in general) for long enough, you’ll be at the very least somewhat familiar with the story of this one grandma that texted the wrong person an invitation to come to her Thanksgiving dinner.

The grandma in question is Wanda Dench, and she was actually trying to reach her grandson Justin and his then girlfriend Amanda. Instead, she ended up reaching Jamal Hinton, a young teen who was at first confused by the invitation.

Their story began after Wanda’s accidental invitational text to Jamal to attend her Thanksgiving dinner

Image credits: Jamalhinton12

One short conversation later, the two understood that it was an accidental text, but Jamal still wanted a plate, and Wanda was more than happy to oblige. And thus begins the feel-good story of the Thanksgiving grandma and the “stranger” turned “grandson” that keeps on giving.

But this wasn’t a one-off kind of celebration. The internet was already overjoyed by the wholesome story, and even more so when they came back together the next year. And so they have been doing so each year since 2016.

Bored Panda has covered the story on several occasions, like here, here and here.

Jamal immediately became a grandson to Wanda and the internet was even happier to know that they started celebrating together every year

Image credits: Jamalhinton12

Image credits: jamalhinton12

The two would also take a traditional picture that at first just included Wanda and Jamal, but later Wanda’s husband Lonnie started making an appearance as well as Jamal’s girlfriend Mikaela.

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic threw a spanner in the works. Not only were social gatherings a big issue due to the potential pandemic dangers, but also Wanda and Lonnie both caught the virus, and, sadly, Lonnie didn’t make it. But he was never forgotten as later pictures still included him both in pictures and in spirit.

Since 2016, the two kept updating the internet each Thanksgiving with pictures that also included their significant others

Image credits: jamalhinton12

Unfortunately, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Wanda’s husband Lonnie passed away

Image credits: jamalhinton12

But it never stopped them from celebrating Thanksgiving together

Image credits: Jamalhinton12

But the tradition never stopped, and here they are again, back for their 7th Thanksgiving. In a recent tweet, Jamal has confirmed that they will be, in fact, celebrating Thanksgiving together.

And it seems that a lot has happened since the 6th year. Jamal has also tweeted “From year 1 as strangers, to year 7 as family but now BUSINESS PARTNERS”, explaining how the two have kicked off BlackMP, an alkaline black water brand.

Image credits: Jamalhinton12

Not only that, but Jamal has also announced last December that they are partnering up with Netflix, saying that he can’t wait to tell their story on the big screen. Netflix itself announced this the same day, quoting Wanda and Jamal:

“We are excited to share our story with the world. We hope it inspires more people to reach out and make connections that they wouldn’t ordinarily make. We are so blessed to find a genuine friendship brought together by God from a mistaken text message.”

The gift that keeps on giving, indeed.

Grandma And ‘Stranger’ Shared 7th Thanksgiving Together After She Accidentally Sent Him An Invitation Years Ago

Image credits: wandadench

Image credits: Jamalhinton12

Jamal has recently tweeted for the 7th year that the two will be celebrating Thanksgiving

Image credits: Jamalhinton12

Image credits: jamalhinton12

Image credits: Jamalhinton12

He was also very happy to announce that the two kicked off an alkaline black water venture together

Image credits: jamalhinton12

We have reached out to Jamal and are yet to hear from him, so stay tuned for an update. In the meantime, however, you can check out more Good News from us here, or why not share your thoughts and best Thanksgiving wishes in the comment section below!

Some time ago, Robertas used to spend his days watching how deep the imprint in his chair will become as he wrote for Bored Panda. Wrote about pretty much everything under and beyond the sun. Not anymore, though. He's now probably playing Gwent or hosting Dungeons and Dragons adventures for those with an inclination for chaos.

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Saulė is a photo editor at Bored Panda with bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Computer Design. The thing that relaxes her the best is going into YouTube rabbit hole. In her free time she loves painting, embroidering and taking walks in nature.

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