Grandmother's accidental Thanksgiving invite yields celebratory family dinner for the sixth year in a row

Six years after a wrong number mishap, long-time friends Jamal Hinton and Wanda Dench are once again meeting up for their annual Thanksgiving family meal.

The unlikely pals met initially in 2016, after Dench sent Hinton an invite to her family's Thanksgiving dinner that was actually meant for her 24-year-old grandson — Dench's grandson had actually changed his phone number, so the message went through to Hinton, who was then aged 17, instead.

After some confusion that was cleared up with mutually-exchanged selfies, Hinton asked Dench, who is from Arizona, if he could still come over to dinner.

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Per ABC News, the now-64-year-old grandmother texted back, "Of course you can. That's what grandmas do... feed everyone."

Hinton and Dench have not spent a Thanksgiving apart since, and this year is no different.

"We are all set for year 6!" a now-22-year-old Hinton tweeted yesterday alongside a screenshot of a text message exchange between the pair, and a photo of himself, his girlfriend Mikaela, Dench, and Dench's late husband Lonnie.

"It would bring me great joy if you, Mikaela and your family would come to my house on Thanksgiving day to share good food and great conversation. Your friend always, Wanda," Dench — who is saved in Hinton's phone as 'Grandma Wanda' — sent to Hinton.

"Yes we would love to!" Hinton replied, before confirming the time the group will meet this Thanksgiving, which falls on Thursday, November 25.

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Last year, Hinton and Dench celebrated Thanksgiving together for the first time without Dench's husband, Lonnie, who passed away from COVID-19 in April 2020.

The 'found family' still set a place for Lonnie, however, placing a framed photo at the table.

"My husband was always right behind me, telling me how proud he was of Jamal and me for what we've done," told The New York Times.

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Of their then-newly-formed holiday tradition, Hinton told People in 2016 that "it was so unexpected, but [Dench] was just so sweet about it."

"It was a reminder that there are still some good people left in this world," Hinton remarked of Dench.

"She is a very sweet lady, she told me her husband was a veteran and she always invited his friends over for dinner, so she's used to having a lot of people over. I just got a vibe from her that made me feel at home."

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According to Hinton's Instagram, the group also gets together outside of Thanksgiving dinner, with Hinton and his girlfriend meeting up with Dench and Lonnie at a pumpkin patch in 2019.

For her part, Dench was also impressed by Hinton upon their first meeting, saying that the duo had chemistry immediately.

"I just clicked when I met him and first talked to him," Dench told NBC Nightly News.

"I thought, 'Oh my gosh, I want to get to know this guy.'"