Gatsby's parties are major events, People are drawn to them, "like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars." Gatsby's parties are festive occasions where people show up uninvited. There are specialty foods and booze that flowed like water. There was an orchestra: Gatsby's parties were truly a grand affair. Gatsby was often conspicuously absent, watching it from a room above. Tom's parties were smaller intimate affairs. Only selected people were invited, and everything was fancy but conservative. Tom's Parties were definitely low-key compared with Gatsby's parties.