I find the whole-family-at-bid-day thing weird, too. I wouldn't want to babysit an entourage while a. still getting to know my new org and b. still processing feelings about my bid, even if I'm happy with my result.
Bid day was for us to celebrate and bond with our new chapter. Presents, OTOH, was a special luncheon for our parents (or whomever we wanted to invite as our "family") to celebrate our new member status and get to know other AOIIs and their fams. We'd know our pledge class by then and have our big sisters assigned, so we'd actually be able to give context when introducing our families to people. "This is my big sis Lisa, we like to watch the news together and clown the talking heads" is better than "This is Susan, she rushed me three days ago... I think."
