Article by Maloree Murphy

Photos by Lovely Hitchcock 

In 2016, Arizona grandmother Wanda Dench texted a Thanksgiving invitation to the wrong number. On the other end was Jamal Hinton, then a high school student and a complete stranger. After they figured out the mix-up, he jokingly asked if he could still come for dinner. She said yes. That accidental invitation became a Thanksgiving tradition and a friendship that has now lasted a decade. 

That story has very little to do with a wrong number and a lot to do with being ready to make room. When someone unexpected showed up in her life, Wanda didn’t worry about whether there was enough food or whether one more person would fit around the table. She simply invited Jamal in. 

My encouragement to you this year is to look beyond the usual guest list and invite somebody unexpected. Think about the college student who can’t make it home, or the neighbor who lives alone. Think about the person you’ve met at church but don’t know very well yet, the coworker who mentions they don’t have plans, or the family who recently moved to town and hasn’t found their people yet. Then ask. 

Stretch the Table  

Inviting people and being ready for them are two different things, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. Here are a few practical ways to prepare: 

• Stretch the mashed potatoes. They’re a cheap, easy way to make sure guests leave full. If they start running low, add a little sour cream and butter and re-whip them. 
• Add a protein. I always keep a rotisserie chicken from Town & Country on hand, just in case. 
• Bake more bread than you think you need. Nobody has ever left a Thanksgiving table hungry while there was still a roll basket within reach. 
• Keep a side dish ready in the fridge. An extra green salad or pasta salad can save you in a pinch, and it won’t go to waste if you don’t need it. 
• Set out extra chairs and place settings ahead of time. When an extra guest arrives, a seat that’s already waiting tells them they were expected. 

Thanksgiving isn’t really about having enough matching chairs or making sure every dish turns out perfectly. It’s about who gets to sit beside us. An extra invitation might feel like a small thing to you, but to someone who wasn’t sure where they belonged that day, it could mean a great deal. So set one more place, stretch the potatoes a little further, and make room. You never know what might begin with a simple “Come join us.” 

Originally printed in the November 2026 issue of Simply Local Magazine

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