Sandy, I believe you've hit the nail on the head.
I also think there is probably a difference with very small families where every single person present adds so much more to the gathering. Our family gatherings - like Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving - generally have between 30 and 40 for dinner and always more than 50 for dessert. Our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren alone number almost 50, though certainly not everyone comes to everything. We have long since accepted the reality that there were going to be a few "greenies and weenies" we don't know very well at every family celebration, usually brought by someone in their late teens or early twenties. Actually, we wouldn't have it any other way - we want our home to be welcoming, especially to those who may have nowhere else to go.
It is painful for me to remember that our daughters lived with men who were not their husbands, but we always welcomed them into our home on our terms. The relationships were sinful, perhaps even pervasively so. However, certainly not every aspect of those relationships were sinful, and we did see some tenderness and support coming from each of them toward the other. I remember one young man, especially, who wanted nothing more than to marry my daughter, but she was the one resisting. I always made it a point to let each of them know how we felt, but we did not harp on it, I don't think we mentioned it every time we saw them - to do so would have alienated them completely.
Mercifully, Joyfully, these children have returned to the Faith.