Blood Orange Champagne, Old Movies and the Theatre of the Holiday Table: Hosting Tips From the Founder of Le Supper Club

December is when the door keeps opening, the table keeps expanding, and the evening revolves around passing plates, refilling glasses of spiked eggnog, and arguing over which version of It’s a Wonderful Life is the best one. Holiday hosting works best when it builds on what the season already offers: familiarity, ritual, and the simple pleasure of doing things together again, the same philosophy Camille Collard brings to every Le Supper Club gathering. 

When we last spoke with Camille for How to Host Like It’s Theatre: Inside Le Supper Club’s Story-Driven Dinner Parties, she shared how Le Supper Club transforms intimate dinners into immersive, story-led affairs. This time, the focus turns to holiday hosting, where memory, tradition, and a well-timed flourish guide the evening. Here, details do the heavy lifting, from a pear-infused martini on arrival to a dessert reveal that lands at just the right moment. Camille’s inspiration pulls from Christmas films, inherited recipes, and the familiar rituals that define the season, all sharpened through a host’s practiced eye. Ahead, she shares her holiday hosting cues, along with venue pairings designed to suit everything from a retro cocktail party to an at-home après-ski dinner.

 

 

Camille’s Holiday Hosting Notes

Holiday hosting, in her world, starts with choosing a mood and committing, whether that’s Home Alone chaos, The Night Before Christmas whimsy, or a retro Christmas built around a barely legible, handwritten apple pie recipe and unapologetically kitschy sides. The inspiration is rarely abstract: it’s cassette-tape soundtracks, inherited dessert plates, and menus that nod to childhood before getting a grown-up edit. “The important thing is finding something that sparks festive joy in you,” she says, then following that instinct all the way through the evening. Done well, the result feels playful and familiar, full of knowing details, food that tastes like memory, and a table that knows exactly what kind of night it wants to be.

 

 

Setting the Table: Winter Whites, Silvered Blues, and the Case for Tradition

When it comes to holiday tablescapes, she’s happily oscillating between two instincts. On one end, a cooler, winter-leaning palette: icy blues, silvery tones, mirrored trays, and candlelight turned all the way up, the kind of table that feels pulled from a snow-dusted village rather than a sunny Los Angeles apartment. On the other, a deep affection for Christmastime classics, red and green linens, tartan bows, candy-cane striping, and décor pulled from the same box every December. There’s been plenty of recent chatter around the idea of a "Ralph Lauren” Christmas, but as she points out, that look is simply tradition, the version of the holidays many of us actually grew up with. 

“My holiday decor looks basically the same each season, and I love it that way,” she says, building new ideas on top of familiar pieces rather than starting from scratch. It’s comforting, nostalgic, and flexible, leaving room for subtle updates, a modern twist on a family recipe, oversized bows on delightfully kitschy wrapping paper, or a fresh color story layered onto a trusted base. The throughline is intention, whether the table skews monochromatic and luminous or leans fully into tradition, refined with scale, texture, and a confident sense of edit that makes it feel like a memory, only better.

 

 

Winter Menus, Reimagined

Her favorite winter menus start with recognizable flavors, then introduce a note of surprise through technique or ingredient rather than reinvention. A recent holiday dinner built around sake offered a masterclass in this approach, pairing oysters and caviar with tuna crudo, scallops cooked in sake alongside kabocha squash purée and a brown-butter miso glaze, followed by fritto misto and linguine alle vongole. The throughline was restraint: familiar textures and forms, quietly elevated with umami, warmth, and depth that felt both seasonal and unexpected. It’s a useful lesson for winter hosting, keep the foundation reassuring, then introduce intrigue through one or two thoughtful departures that give the meal a point of view.

 

 

The Menu Is the Moment

For her, holiday menus are about the tried-and-true with just enough surprise to keep things interesting. Rather than reinventing the entire meal, she prefers thoughtful swaps and small upgrades that feel natural to the season.

• Start with a classic, then sharpen it. Duck confit instead of turkey, whipped turnip purée in place of mashed potatoes, or a hot chocolate bar dressed up with whipped cream, shaved chocolate, and a splash of something grown-up. Peppermint schnapps, anyone?
• Choose one signature cocktail and commit. A pear-infused martini, cranberry spritz, or blood orange champagne sets the tone the second guests arrive and immediately signals the kind of night you’re hosting.
• Let nostalgia guide dessert. Whether it’s profiteroles stacked high, a reworked family pie, or something playful that references childhood, dessert is where memory gets its final word.

The goal is comfort without complacency, food that feels comforting, well-considered, and perfectly suited to a long night around the table.

 

 

Matching the Mood: Holiday Parties and the Venues That Suit Them

For Camille, the success of a holiday gathering often comes down to choosing the right setting for the story you want to tell. “I love a good theme, especially for the holidays,” she says. “Once I fall in love with an idea, I commit to it fully.”

• Paris-in-December Bistro Night
  Best suited for candlelit restaurants, wine bars, or private dining rooms where tables sit close and conversation stays lively. The goal is warmth and ease, with simple menus, good bread, and a space that feels intimate by design. As Camille often returns to with her hosting, it should feel recognizable and comforting, even if it’s entirely new to your guests. Recommended Venue: Bar Trove
• Retro Christmas Cocktail Party
  Best hosted in a private estate or villa, especially when you’re traveling with friends and want to recreate the nostalgia and charm of a family Christmas somewhere new. These spaces give you room to play with props, themed menus, and playful details without worrying about scale. Recommended Venue: Hotel Lilien
• Après-Ski Dinner
  Cabins, chalets, or any home with a fireplace and a strong sense of place. This is about warmth and abundance, with dishes designed to be shared easily and an atmosphere that encourages everyone to settle in. Recommended Venue: Sun Mountain Lodge
• Classic Family-Style Holiday Feast
  This one is best done at home and made for tables set once and left alone. This is where tradition thrives, with dishes pulled from memory and décor that’s seen more than one December. “Some of the best holidays of recent years have been moments rooted in childhood,” Camille reflects, “elevated and chic and yet so very familiar.”

At this point, the only decision left is how much fun you plan to have with it. Camille, unsurprisingly, tends to take that very seriously.

 

 

 

Going All In: A Home Alone Christmas, Reimagined

This year’s choice for Camille was a Home Alone Christmas cocktail party, executed with the kind of commitment that rewards close inspection. Weeks were spent sourcing details that felt pulled straight from Kevin McCallister’s universe: matchbox cars, a Lite-Brite, an Etch A Sketch, all layered in with intention rather than irony. The apartment itself became part of the story, complete with chic-ified booby traps, rope and paint cans suspended above the buffet, Micro Machines and ornaments scattered across a hand-drawn hazard map, and even a compote of feathers placed in front of a fan. Kevin’s favorite foods appeared on the menu, and trivia questions doubled as a game, with correct answers earning guests the chance to pluck an ornament from the tree, a nod to Home Alone 2 devotees. The night struck a careful balance, childhood mischief filtered through the elevated lens of Le Supper Club. 

The year prior brought a ‘More Is More’ retro Christmas, where the food itself became spectacle: charcuterie skewers arranged inside a cabbage, a towering shrimp tree, gelatin molds, dips, and a crab cocktail drink that recalled family holidays marked by crowded kitchens and a little chaos. “It’s hard not to want to live in those moments forever,” she admits, but that’s also the appeal. Each gathering ends, and with it comes the chance to tell a new story, one that sparks imagination, invites play, and reminds guests why the holidays are the perfect time to go all in.
 

 

Hosting Notes, Worth Keeping (For any season)

In many ways, holiday hosting is simply Le Supper Club thinking applied to winter. The same instincts Camille shared in How to Host Like It’s Theatre: Inside Le Supper Club’s Story-Driven Dinner Parties show up here too: decide what kind of night you’re having, commit to it, and trust the details to carry the experience. Whether it’s a silvered table, a sake-forward menu, or a Home Alone theme taken very seriously, the throughline is confidence and a sense of play. It’s a reminder that the most memorable winter gatherings aren’t about doing more, they’re about doing something well, then letting guests enjoy it. For more inspiration on hosting, gathering, and winter entertaining, revisit our Supper Club features and seasonal guides, then clear the table and get started.

Camille’s Holiday Hosting Takeaways

• Decide early and commit. A clear idea makes every other choice easier.
• Use what you already love. Traditions, recipes, and familiar references give a night credibility.
• Focus on a few strong details. One great drink, one menu twist, one surprise is often enough.
• Choose the setting with care. The right space supports the night naturally.
• Have fun. Guests notice when a host is genuinely enjoying themselves.