Are wealthy families (particularly italian) ..."different"?

[Ashley =)]

I love my family, so don't get me wrong, but there's this attitude that other families, particularly wealthy ones, seem to have that we don't have. I don't even know if it's about money, and I don't know how to explain it.
Take my friend Gillian, for example. She's my age (21), italian and her family is very wealthy. I'm not sure what factor plays into them being ridiculously ... INVOLVED, but it stumps me. For my birthday, I went out to dinner with my family and watched a few movies. For her birthday, she had over her boyfriend, 6 cousins, grandparents, and her aunt and uncle called to sing her happy birthday.
I'm not sure you're following me here, but does it ever come off as almost contrived the way certain families express their enjoyment and love for each other? An evening staying in and watching TV with my family is normal, but for Gillian, an evening of playing Monopoly with the extended family is normal. Is it a rich thing? Italian thing? lol!!