Julie Costa-Strothers' Onset home got a little bit cramped a couple years ago.

Her daughter, Dawn Strothers Pina, a cancer survivor, moved in following a struggle with the illness. With her came husband Sonny Pina, children Aaron, now 22, and twins Alix and Asia Strothers, now 19, as well as the family's small pup, a puggle.

The home is meticulously kept and beautifully decorated. You wouldn't even know that three adults and three college students live there during school breaks.

But, the house still contains the belongings of six people, so there was just one problem. Where would the family put a Christmas tree?

How about on the ceiling?

"If we were to do it the regular way, it would take up too much room in the living room," said Julie, gesturing toward the tree, which is suspended upside down, hanging from the living room ceiling.

Julie and Dawn got the idea after a visit to the Old Company Store on Elm Street, which had a similar tree set up.

Dawn, who has a collection of glass ornaments, many of them with special meanings (including one she got on her first trip with her husband), was determined to make the upside-down tree in her home.

"We wouldn't have had a tree" if not for the idea, Dawn said. "Where would we put it?"

The project took some trial and error. Dawn got out her artificial tree, which has been going strong for 20 years. She and her husband tried to use industrial-strength glue to connect and secure the detached pieces of the tree. The glue wasn't strong enough.

Finally, Sonny wired the branches together and suspended the tree from a hook on the ceiling using a chain. A tree skirt covers the hook, just as it would a tree stand if the tree were on the floor. Decorative presents sit on the bottom branches of the tree, completing the festive look.

"Every year it gets better," Dawn said with a smile.

Julie says she likes the upside-down tree more than traditional ones.

"The ornaments hang better upside down!" she said.