Salad - I make a pear and blue cheese salad that is always a huge hit
For the Paleo, gluten-free, dairy free guest, I am doing roast veggies and a spinach salad w/ apples, pecans and a Dijon mustard dressing. Other than that, ours is the usual stuff I’ve served since the boys were little and they complain if I don’t.
I googled Thanksgiving jello salads and was not disappointed:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,thanksgiving_jello_salads,FF.html
One of my favorites is a cold broccoli salad with bacon, raisins, peanuts, green onions, and a sweet & tangy dressing.
I also was going to suggest a broccoli salad, but our family celebrations always have this one:
http://www.midwestliving.com/recipe/vegetables/sunny-broccoli-salad/
When I make it, I sometimes omit the bacon. If I am driving a distance, I sometimes put the crumbled bacon and the sunflower seeds in a baggie and put them on when I get there.
Good ole’ plain Jello. Can of cranberry sauce if you have someone old attending.
One sister in law always brings creamed onions. (They are very easy if you use a bag of frozen pearl onions.) The other makes a really good corn bread with corn and jalepenos. A few years I’ve made a warm winter vegetable salad. It’s an old Marth Stewart recipe. Carrots, potatoes and yes brussel sprouts: http://www.marthastewart.com/918070/recipe-warm-winter-vegetable-salad My great aunt that I’m named after used to bring gingered carrots. Lots of butter and a touch of honey. There are recipes that look similar if you google them.
^^ Yes, and when you serve the can of cranberry sauce it is important that it sits on a plate still retaining its canned shape. For that, it needs to be the canned jellied cranberries.
Cold pea salad is refreshing as well. An interesting dip with cut raw or steamed veggies are nice to munch on. Mozzarella and tomato salad is nice, drizzled with basaltic vinegar.
“Can of cranberry sauce if you have someone old attending.”
Hey, I love cranberry sauce! Are you calling me old? 
BTW, OP already mentioned cranberries will be making an appearance at her Thanksgiving dinner.
I’m old, and I love cranberries. I was only thinking of myself! Sorry for the duplicate, I couldn’t believe no one had mentioned it @doschicos.
Lawry’s Creamed Corn?
For the brusslel sprout lovers…
Winter Vegetable Casserole
1 bag frozen baby brussel sprouts, boiled, reserve a few tablespoons of cooking water
2-3 large carrots peeled, chunked, boiled until tender, reserve a tablespoon or two of cookng water
2 TBS finely minced onion
2 tsp grated horseradish or wasabi (sorry I do live in Asia where there is no grated horseradish)
1/3 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs tossed with 1 Tbs. melted butter and seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.
Butter a casserole dish, 8 X 8 inches or similar round. Put cooked veggies in and mix. In a separate bowl mix mayonaise, minced onion and horseradish (or wasabi), then spoon over the veggies. Top with the buttered and seasoned breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
This is such a loved casserole. And it is even better as leftovers.
We seem to be a brussels sprouts team here. When we have guests bring something, I usually suggest salad or dessert. They don’t need to be reheated and the guests don’t get in the way (around the stove/oven- or in it) of any final prep of the rest of the menu.
Or, of course, drinks.
Below is a recipe posted by a cc friend several years ago. Apologies to whoever posted as I don’t remember who it was. We serve this every year and it is a favorite:
Corn casserole:
1 15 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 15 oz can cream-style corn
1 8 oz pkg corn muffin mix (Jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
Optional: 1 TBS sugar…she adds this and we love it!
Also optional: 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese…we don’t use this
Preheat oven to 350. Mix corn, muffin mix, sour cream and melted butter. Pour into greased casserole dish. Bake 45 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and top with cheese if desired. Return to oven for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Let stand at least five minutes and then serve warm.
We have that every year. But my recipe calls it “Aunt Lucille’s corn casserole”.
@FallGirl I’ve made that a few times. We call it corn casserole. Calorific, but very yummy! Don’t skimp on the cheese.
I make that same corn casserole a lot, but never leave out the cheese! For Mexican dinners, I throw in a can of green chiles and some garlic powder.
Y’all are making me want to add to my menu. My mom does half the cooking, including the turkey, so I just make sides. She also makes sides. We have eight people and enough food for 28. or more.
This Campbell’s recipe is always a big hit and the trick is to thaw out the frozen veggies first and even cut the big pieces down a bit to make sure they’re bite size. (Also, for Thanksgiving I usually double it - we like leftovers )
1 can Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (you can use the Fat Free Cream of Mushroom Soup)
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen California vegetable blend (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots), thawed
1 cup (2.8 ounces) French fried onions(about 1 1/3 cups) (French’s or Durke makes them I think)
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
Stir the soup, sour cream, black pepper, vegetables, 2/3 cup onions and 1/4 cup cheese in a 2-quart casserole. Cover the casserole.
Bake at 350°F. for 40 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Stir the vegetable mixture. Top with the remaining onions and cheese.
Bake for 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
I’ll be making roasted delicata squash, and a salad of some sort. The salad is mostly for me since the rest of the family doesn’t think salad says “Thanksgiving”.