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Originally Posted by Columbine
I'm not sure about the parties. In Japan it's very difficult to just casually invite someone to visit. If I say to a couple of my English friends "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while, why don't you pop over this evening and we'll hang out and I'll cook dinner," it's really not a big deal, but when I've offered the same thing to some of my Japanese friends, they get very concerned that they won't be able to "pay me back in kind" or that I'm going to too much trouble. So maybe those kinds of casual gatherings are what might be considered a 'party' in Japan, but it's really not thought of like that here.
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You know Japanese very well!!
Yes. That would be considered a party here. If the guests are only two or three, we may call it a party.
When we have a big party with over ten people, we go to a restaurant or a banquet room in a hotel.
I believe guests are supposed to be relaxed in the hosts’ house in the US, while in Japan, guests are commonly supposed to behave like a “guest”. It means the guests sit properly and can’t leave dinner, as you may know.
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Hmm, I've never thought about offering men and women different refreshments. What happens when both a man and a woman come to visit? 
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I would offer Japanese sweets.
Many women love cakes (The picture below. When Japanese people say “cakes”, we commonly mean that kind of cakes with cream and sponge.) Many men dislike them, and they prefer Japanese sweets because it’s not greasy or too sweet.
Most women like Japanese sweets, too. So I would offer Japanese sweets.