Oh, you were lucky! “Us” kids were banned to one of the bedrooms and told to stay out of the dining room and living room - we got TV dinners so we were happy - and got to watch TV until we all fell asleep.
I always remember the next morning b/c the house smelled like smoke - lots of people smoked cigarettes in those days and you wouldn’t dare ask them to go outside to smoke.
My mother had a beautiful crystal ash tray that she could never find when company came over - but always found it somehow at the last minute. After she died, I looked for that ashtray and couldn’t find it. I did find a smaller one, though.
Those were good days, I recall them fondly.
You got to watch TV? Nice!
No such luck for us. It was a day of cleaning before the guests arrived, helping prepare the dinner, setting the table (easy peasy chore), serving the meal, cleaning up afterwards, and then off to do homework and to be quiet. I wasn’t old enough to date, but it was still fun to see my parents enjoy themselves with their friends. A few of them had kids my age and we went to the same school, so we did get to briefly chat with some of them.
And oh, those cigarettes! No one in our family smoked, but there were a couple of people who did. They fortunately waited until after dinner to light up. To me, it was a nasty habit, and I wanted no part of it, but you’re right. Ash trays were a common household item, even in non-smoking homes.