A mistaken text has led to a beautiful Thanksgiving tradition that first captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of Twitter users and has now lasted for years.
Wanda Dench first showed what it meant to have holiday spirit when she accidentally sent a Thanksgiving dinner invitation to Jamal Hinton in 2016, thinking he was her grandchild.
When the confusion was cleared up, Hinton sweetly asked if he could still reserve his spot at the dinner table, and the Arizona grandmother was true to her word.
Fast-forward three years and Dench and Hinton, now 19, are still breaking bread together on the holiday.
Wanda Dench and Jamal Hinton are continuing their sweet Thanksgiving tradition after she mistakenly sent him an invitation to dinner three years ago
Dench first showed what it meant to have holiday spirit when she accidentally sent a Thanksgiving dinner invitation to Hinton in 2016, thinking he was her grandchild
When the confusion was cleared up, Hinton sweetly asked if he could still reserve his spot at the dinner table, and the Arizona grandmother was true to her word
Fast-forward three years and Dench and Hinton, now 19, are still breaking bread together on the holiday. They are pictured here on Thursday
Hinton tweeted a tribute to their enduring tradition on Thursday, sharing three photos of him and Dench from their three Thanksgivings together.
‘2016, 2017…2018,’ he wrote in the simple caption.
Hinton then promised that he would be posting a video he filmed with Dench and her husband on Friday.
Dench has made Hinton her ‘honorary grandson’ since her legendary mix-up in 2016 and was more than happy to have him sit down at her Thanksgiving feast last year.
‘It was really nice having everybody here,’ Dench told the Arizona Republic 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. We had a laugh and a good time.’
Hinton posted a tribute to their enduring tradition on Thursday, sharing three photos of him and Dench from their three Thanksgivings together. They are pictured here in 2017
Hinton and Dench snapped their first ever Thanksgiving selfie together in 2016 (pictured)
‘The world is becoming a better place than it used to be,’ Hinton said at last year’s Thanksgiving dinner.
‘I’m loving it. I love that you don’t have to know someone or know their background to be nice to them.’
A week after taking the internet by storm in 2016, Dench and Hinton sat down together for their first Thanksgiving feast.
Dench accidentally texted Hinton inviting him to her family’s traditional holiday lunch in Mesa.
Dench has made Hinton her ‘honorary grandson’ since her legendary mix-up in 2016 (pictured) and was more than happy to have him sit down at her Thanksgiving feast last year
Dench gave Hinton a big hug when he arrived at her home in Mesa, Arizona for their first Thanksgiving feast together
The 17-year-old student told the grandmother she had texted the wrong person, but then asked if he could ‘still get a plate though?’
‘Of course you can, that’s what grandmas do, feed everyone’ Dench quickly replied.
Hinton stayed true to his reservation, and Dench hugged him the minute he walked up to her house.
The 17-year-old was thrilled with the meal, and that he had accidentally become linked with such a nice person.
‘I’d never seen her before and she welcomed me into her home,’ Hinton told ABC15 in 2016.
But Thanksgiving isn’t the only time Hinton sees Dench. In July he posted a selfie with her to show that they were having lunch together
‘That shows me how great of a person she is, I’m thankful for people like that.’
Dench told the network she was glad to have played a part in spreading a positive message at the start of the holiday season.
Twitter users were delighted by Dench’s sweetness, and Hinton’s original post about the mix-up was shared more than 200,000 times.
But it was Hinton who was especially touched by Dench’s kindness.
‘With all the Donald Trump going on and all the racial comments going on, it’s kind of good to see there’s still good people out there,’ he said at the time.
Hinton was given an ‘open invitation’ to future Thanksgiving dinners at the Dench household – and the grandmother has clearly stayed true to her word.