Did you guys hear about this?

Woman's Craigslist Offer Solicits Full Thanksgiving Table

32 Strangers To Gather At Whites' House

LITTLETON, Colo. -- This time last year, Monique White was living in a tiny motel room and looking for work, pining for the Thanksgivings of her childhood when dozens gathered for the holiday feast.

On Thursday, White will fulfill her holiday wish. She has a home and a job, and thanks to an impromptu Craigslist posting, 32 strangers are gathering at her house to share a banquet of six turkeys, four hams, 16 boxes of stuffing and a dozen or so pies.

White, 36, posted a two-sentence invitation on the Internet classifieds site last week.

"So I got on Craigslist, and posted -- three or four people, we have room for you, give us a call. And they did, 32 of them," White said.

White, a receptionist at a dentist's office, was feeling a little lonely with her two sons spending the holiday with their dad. So she figured maybe four or five strangers would reply to her ad and join her and her husband, Doug White, at their Littleton home for Thanksgiving dinner.

Instead, dozens replied. People laid off work. People with no family. People ashamed to bring their children to a charity Thanksgiving dinner at a soup kitchen. Single mothers with kids, and an elderly couple.

"I thought there was no way I could judge who is worthy of sitting at my table. I have to invite them all," White said, sitting at her dining room table as she went over some of the e-mails.

One of them read, "My 5-year-old son and I would like to come celebrate Thanksgiving and we have no family here so I would appreciate it if you have time for us."

So all 32 people who responded are coming over for Thanksgiving dinner. White's boss heard what she was doing and said he'd pay for the food. A local hotel is bringing over tables and chairs. A professional magician in the area replied and offered to come perform for the kids. National media outlets including ABC's Good Morning America have shuffled through the Whites' modest town house writing and filming the story about her unusual offer.

It's a far cry from last year, when the Whites were living in a motel room. They had a long-haul trucking business that had gone out of business. Doug White was working construction; Monique White was still looking. Their holiday got worse when the window in their motel room caved in after a heavy snow, leaving them with little to give thanks for but a soggy mess.

"Last year it was just us two. It was horrible," she said. "I feel very fortunate getting out of that situation. We wanted to pay back.

"Things have turned around. Both are now working, and they've bought the town house. With the economy as it is, the Whites say they're barely making ends meet. But they feel compelled to share what they do have with others.

"That's what Thanksgiving is about: Helping other people out however you can," Doug White said. He's had little time to contemplate the meaning of Monique's craigslist gesture. He was busy making the first turkeys, putting one in the oven as soon as another came out. But there's truly plenty to give thanks for over the past year. "Looking back then to now, it's night and day," Doug White said. "People need to stop being so worried about me, me, me, my bills, my life. You stop worrying, and look what happens?"

"This is ordinary people doing a little something extra; making it an extraordinary thin," said Doug. "But everybody is ordinary. So what is the harm of doing something extra?"

"This will be the most memorable Thanksgiving I've ever had in my entire life," Monique said.

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