This world may be ever-changing, but it's reassuring to know there's one constant: That Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench will meet up for Thanksgiving.
In 2016, the Arizona, US duo were unwittingly catapulted to internet fame thanks to a wrong-number text that lead Dench to invite a stranger to her family's Thanksgiving celebration.
The teen took her up on the offer, and they've spent the US holiday together every year since, delighting people around the world who've been following their story from the start. For their seventh year together last year, the pair even became business partners!
For Thanksgiving 2023, the pair decided to open up the table even more and invite some very special guests.
Read on to see how Hinton and Dench's unlikely friendship began, and the photos of their Thanksgivings through the years.?
It all began in 2016 when Dench texted Hinton's number by mistake, thinking it was her grandson's.
"Thanksgiving dinner is at my house on Nov. 24 at 3:00pm," the message opened.
Hinton, clearly amused, wrote back to "his grandma" to reveal he wasn't the intended recipient of the message ¨C but asked if he could "still get a plate" regardless.
"Of course you can. That's what grandma's do... feed every one," Dench replied.
Hinton shared the exchange on Twitter, writing, "Somebody grandma is coming in clutch this year!! Ayee!!!"
It quickly ?went viral, with people around the world becoming invested in this fledgling friendship.
Hinton followed through, joining his new "grandma" and her family ¨C rather than his own grandmother! ¨C for Thanksgiving dinner.
"She was very sweet and open. I thought, 'I can't really not accept an offer like that'," Hinton told the Washington Post.
And so, a friendship (and internet folklore) was born.?
What began as a funny anecdote then evolved into a yearly tradition when the pair spent Thanksgiving together again in 2017.
"We got to laugh about last year and reminisce about how it all blew up on our phone and how I had to change my number," Dench told AZ Central.
She was referring to Hinton's tweet about their text exchange; because he hadn't obscured her phone number in the screenshots, she was? flooded with messages from strangers.
"We had a laugh and a good time."
Here they are that same year with Wanda's late husband Lonnie, whom Hinton also became close friends with.
Hinton's girlfriend Mikaela also joined in the celebrations.
I?n 2018, the pair spent Thanksgiving together for a third time.
"It's a tradition now," Hinton tweeted, sharing this photo.?
And here's their 2019 effort!
The two couples didn't limit their in-person contact to Thanksgiving, either.
A few months after Thanksgiving 2018?, Hinton shared another photo of the group together to prove they met up at other times of the year, too.
"For everyone who thinks it's just for the cameras and social media! Blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives," he wrote.
Thanksgiving 2020 was a bittersweet occasion for Hinton and Dench, with an empty seat at the table.
In April that year, Lonnie had died of COVID-19?, having contracted the virus in the early days of the pandemic.
"My husband was always right behind me, telling me how proud he was of Jamal and me for what we've done," Dench told The New York Times.
In an Instagram tribute to his late friend, Hinton wrote, "This Thanksgiving, along with all the holidays coming up, aren't going to be the same as past ones but we will make the best of it."
If the pair's many fans had any doubts the tradition would continue for a sixth year, Hinton put them at ease in the leadup to Thanksgiving 2021.
Tweeting a screenshot of Dench's invitation to celebrate with her once again ¨C with the sweet sign-off "your friend always, Wanda" ¨C he wrote, "We are all set for year 6!"?
And here they are!
F?ans were also reassured the Hinton-Dench Thanksgiving celebration would be going ahead this year ahead of the holiday.
"To answer all your questions, yes Thanksgiving year 7 is planned out! See you guys Thursday!" Hinton captioned this photo.?
T?his year, the pair had an extra announcement to make as they shared their traditional Thanksgiving photo.
They've now gone into business together, selling "alkaline black water".
"From year 1 as strangers, to year 7 as family but now BUSINESS PARTNERS! I'm very thankful for my family, friends, fans," Hinton wrote.
In 2023, their eighth Thanksgiving together, Wanda and Jamal have opened up their table to even more people.
The quasi-grandma and grandson have partnered with Airbnb, inviting some lucky winners to stay with them for one night at Wanda's own home in Prescott Valley, Arizona.
They only charged $16 for the stay ¨C a nod to the year ?they first started the tradition, in 2016 ¨C but Airbnb will be making a donation to hunger relief Feeding America on their behalf.
The stay included an early Thanksgiving feast, playing board games, watching movies and cozying up by the fire with a cup of cider or hot cocoa ¨C and of course, taking part in their annual selfie.?
Hinton and Dench took their annual picture with their guest Arseni this year.
"I said from the jump 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," Hinton, now 24 told USA Today.
The favourite part of the tradition for Hinton is " always the great conversations. I mean, me and Wanda, we talk about anything. We talked 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."