Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. While you could ask guests to bring dessert, I think the hostess should take on this sweet task. If you don't do much baking, it's more economical to purchase a ready-made pie dough.
Every so often a new trend will pop up in the restaurant game. In both Salt Lake City and in Denver the new trend is "pay-as-you-can." Yep that's right.