Other than OP these aren't really traditional aperitif suggestions. Rather than just champagne you should go with a kir royale or something.
I have no idea what they are but I had some nice dinners with families in France, and everyone there has a liquor cabinet properly equiped with lots of types of aperitif; I sampled a few and some were quite nice but there are too many with all different names, obviously there are the standards like Lillet and the many Pastis varieties but there were a lot more.
This is a decent article :
http://weeklywire.com/ww/08-30-99/alibi_food2.html
Arts & Leisure: Oui Apéritif! (Weekly Alibi . 08-30-99)
I think the tradition of a proper aperitif and after dinner drink is very cool, it's a nice thing to do when hosting a slightly more formal dinner party.