Our 2012 Christmas Tree

Well folks, here at AM Dolce Vita holiday spirit is officially in full swing. We set up our Christmas tree this past weekend. As usual, we've decided to keep the tree in our foyer with it being the highest traffic area (which means we get to see it more often).

Our 2012 Christmas Tree in the foyer, just over 7ft tall. 

Whether you've been decorating Christmas trees for years or you are a new home owner looking to put up your first-ever-official Christmas tree, I would highly recommend you turn to this November issue of Style At Home magazine. It has the most complete and creative ideas and tips on how to decorate a sensational Christmas tree.

Our 2012 Christmas Tree from the foyer mirror

Tree Topper: I started this year's gold-silver themed tree because of it.

 From another angle facing the front door.

So here's what I learnt from the Style At Home November issue but really, there's no rule when it comes to decorating your Christmas tree.

1. If your tree doesn't come prelit, the rule of thumb is 80-100 lights per foot.
2. From top to bottom: start by hanging ornaments from the top.
3. From big to small: hang the bigger ornaments first, evenly distribute them across all sections of the tree, then move on to medium then small-sized ornaments.
4. Hang ornaments with special meaning to you and your family (e.g. baby's picture, clay palm print, etc.) at the eye level section.
5. Evenly distribute shiny and matte objects.
6. Wrap the tree with bead chains, garlands and/or ribbons.

I prefer to decorate my tree in a certain color family. This year I went with a gold-silver theme because of the new tree topper and that it works better for my foyer. You can go as colorful and as sumptuous as you want -- there is no rule.