Yup, that's how things are. Speaking of family reunions, we had one today. Didn't even know the names of everyone there, but we had a good time.
I have a friend with hardly any family. He is so confused, because our family does things together all the time.
2 weeks ago we went to the mountains and stayed at my dad's cousin's cabin. We went to an outdoors fair and saw another one of their cousins, plus some distant relatives (4th or 5th cousins) that most people probably wouldn't even realize are their relatives. It was like a mini-reunion.
Then last week we had a party for the immediate family (aunts, uncles, cousins) to celebrate 2 people graduating high school. We had dinner and a great time. My aunt brought her friend from another state and we just included her.
So when I told my friend that we'd be having a family reunion today, he was like, "Didn't you just have one of those?" And I was like, No! That was just a get-together. A reunion is bigger, with more distant relatives. He said, "How many?" and we said, oh, probably about 50 people. He said, "Wow! That's a lot!" and we said, "Not really - that's small for us. A lot of people couldn't come." And it's true.

Anyway, yes, in the south, it's a "the more the merrier" mentality. People are always welcomed. We have all kinds of people over, and enjoy the chance to make some new friends! Do you want some butter beans?