Wanda Dench And Jamal Hinton accidentally had Thanksgiving dinner together in 2016. This year you can join them for their 8th annual Thanksgiving celebration, and not by accident!
The unlikely duo’s friendship began when Hinton, 24, received a text from Dench, 66, inviting the then-teenager to Thanksgiving dinner, thinking it was her grandson she was texting. The coincidental text brought together two families who will enjoy the holidays for the eighth time this year. To make the experience a little more magical for their eighth year, the two have entered into a partnership Airbnb.
This year, two guests will be joining Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton for Thanksgiving dinner
![Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench](https://theblast.prod.media.wordpress.mattersmedia.io/2023/01/263831996_423662459498745_6688489645691939939_n.jpg)
Can you imagine the fun discussions around the Thanksgiving table at Dench’s house? Two lucky people don’t have to imagine this year.
The ‘Thanksgiving Grandma’ and Hinton teamed up with Airbnb to invite two guests to book a stay at Dench’s home in Prescott, Arizona, and join them for the holiday dinner the two have had together for the past seven years. have spent.
And to make this even sweeter, the one-night stay, for the night of November 20, is just $16, commemorating the year in which Dench and Hinton spent their first holiday together.
“I think it’s perfect,” Hinton told PEOPLE. “I mean, personally, I love meeting new people and building new friendships.”
Hinton wrote in the caption of his Instagram post announcing the exciting news: “Book for Our Favorite Holiday Tradition opens November 14th at 11am MST.” The link in Hinton’s IG bio takes you directly to the Airbnb page where a description explains the feature.
“Our unexpected friendship may have started accidentally, but our love for meeting new people has kept it going strong almost a decade later. That’s why this year we’re expanding our annual tradition and inviting new guests to spend Thanksgiving at our home with Wanda – because that’s what grandmas do: feed everyone,” reads the Airbnb description.
“During your stay, you can make yourself at home and enjoy our Thanksgiving traditions with some of our family and friends by:
– Join us at our Thanksgiving table, prepared with everyone’s favorite Christmas dishes.
– Play board games, watch movies and cozy up by the fire with a cup of cider or hot chocolate.
– Participate in our annual selfie.
– And our favorite activity: exchanging stories, experiences and heart-warming memories while creating new ones together.”
![Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton Airbnb](https://theblast.prod.media.wordpress.mattersmedia.io/2023/11/02053749/24758474-199d-40f9-bf4b-0025f357dff9.webp)
As part of the partnership, “Airbnb will make a one-time donation to Feeding America, the largest hunger relief organization in the United States that provides food and support to 32 million people in America facing hunger each year.”
Their friendship began in 2016 after Wanda Dench accidentally texted Jamal Hinton
![Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench](https://theblast.prod.media.wordpress.mattersmedia.io/2023/05/316477674_673208857506438_9025160629923626878_n-1.jpg)
The amazing story of how Dench and Hinton’s union came about began in 2016 when Dench thought she was texting one of her grandsons about Thanksgiving dinner.
“I texted two of my grandsons and the one who changed his phone number and didn’t tell me,” Dench told PEOPLE. “And it seems like Jamal got his old phone number and that’s how Jamal got my text.”
Hinton was just 17 at the time and told PEOPLE, “The text said, ‘Thanksgiving at my house,’ and it was from a grandma, but I was like, ‘When did my grandma learn to text?’ So I asked her for a picture and it was definitely not my grandma.”
![Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton](https://theblast.prod.media.wordpress.mattersmedia.io/2022/11/316503490_147906041330235_5606941591999238635_n.jpg)
Hinton responded to the coincidental text: “Can I still get a plate?” and she replied, “Of course you can.” That’s what grandmas do: feed everyone.”
And so their holiday adventures began. They meet often, recently participated in a game show and there is talk of a Netflix film about their story.
“I love him,” Dench said of Hinton. “I remember reading all the emails or messages [on X, formerly Twitter] where young people said, ‘Oh my god, thank you so much. You’ve changed my life. You have given me faith in humanity.” I had no idea we had such an impact on people, especially young people.”