Snow tires and stuff.

Well, I just got wheels, and I'm hoping to do a couple of trips to the mountains.

I was wondering about snow tires/chains/socks etc.

First I planned to get snow chains for my rear (driving) wheels, but it was difficult to ge them in my tire size and there's not much clearance (the user manual actually says I can't use chains) so I ended up getting a pair of snow socks.
Then I thought about the front wheels and in the end I picked up a pair of snow tires for cheap.

Now I'm wondering.... should I just put the snow tires on the rear wheels and hope that manages for the most part and maybe put the snow socks on the front wheels if it gets hard to steer.

Or, should I put the snow tires on the front wheels and definitely use the socks on the rear when it gets snowy.

Or should I also get a pair of snow chains and hope they fit because neither snow tires nor socks will be any good in the mountains.

I really don't know how well either snow socks or snow tires will perform in the mountains - I know they are OK on snow on flat roads but on hills and so on.....

The tires on my car now are pretty hard compound summer tires and I'm pretty sure will perform badly on the snow.