I say lights, definitely lights, lots and lots of pepper lights so your tree twinkles and sparkles, no tinsel, definitely not, there’s a reason you don’t even see them on sale anymore. Here in ‘JA’ you should probably hold the snow, we definitely don’t have that; however, with Christmas it’s all a fantasy, so if it’s a Winter Wonderland you want to create then you have to go all out with your décor to reflect that. Choose the cool winter-colour blue in many different hues along with white and silver and make it an over-the-top fantasy with Santa and reindeers, snowmen and pine cones.

So how should you actually dress your Christmas tree? There are the usual ribbons and bows, ornaments and flowers, and with the incredibly wide selection of colours and interesting shapes of these ornaments, everyone can find something they like. Just let the colour schemes available be your guide.

If you want to do things a little differently this year, here are a

few suggestions:

. Family trinkets and personalised ornaments. This is great for a huge extended family Christmas tree and can include small picture frames with pictures of family members spanning all generations. DIY ornaments made by children over the years, or special little trinkets with sentimental ties to Christmas. There are online companies that offer personalised ornaments, or you can do-it-yourself and convert a box of plain ornaments with a little glitter and glue into personalised ornaments for each family member

. The nativity story is the story of the birth of Christ, and Christmas celebrates his birth, so what could be more fitting than dedicating your Christmas tree to the nativity story? Top the tree with the brightest and most beautiful star you can find, include ornaments with angels, sheep, shepherds, the three wise men, camels, a manger, gold and beautiful bottle ornaments to signify the frankincense and myrrh.

. The Nutcracker is an old children’s story based on a dreamy Christmas. This is a playful fantasy option for decorating your Christmas tree. The tree can be topped with a huge and stately nutcracker doll as well as ornaments of nutcrackers, soldiers, the rat king and his army, the sugarplum princess, fairies, ballerinas and even beautiful ballet slippers. You can include tiny gift-wrapped ornaments and lots and lots of candy. This is a great option to amaze the little ones.

. Edible ornaments are a fantastic option for your Christmas tree, but this option is best for the consummate homemaker who will be constantly entertaining and whose home will be full of people. If this tree goes up early December, it has to be constantly replenished. For added impact the tree has to be very well lit, and then wrapped in beautiful ribbon accented with bows. Fill the tree with candy canes, chocolates like Ferrero Rocher attached with ribbon, jelly beans in Christmas cellophane bags tied with ribbons and freshly baked Christmas cookies (wrapped in plastic bags as well so they stay fresh) and marzipan fruit. If you are hosting Christmas dinner, then the Christmas tree can be the very entertaining dessert station for young and old alike.

In the end it all boils down to preference and taste, but I certainly hope that these ideas will spark some creativity in you for bringing some Christmas cheer into your home for the holidays.