Family's massive Christmas lights display courts controversy in Connecticut town

— -- One family's bright display of Christmas cheer at their Connecticut home has courted controversy this holiday season, after dozens of neighbors complained in a petition that the traffic the twinkling exhibition attracts creates "public safety and nuisance concerns."

Mary Halliwell of Fairfield told ABC News that over the past 18 years, it has become a family tradition to transform their home into what they dub the "Wonderland on Roseville" each year, going all-out with lights and festive decorations.

"For my husband and my daughter, it's everything," Halliwell said. "My daughter was very sick ... she still was out here fixing, planning, you know, it didn't matter."

"A couple of years I said, 'We're not doing it next year.' They said, 'Well, that's what you think,'" she added.

This year, Halliwell said they employed over 350,000 Christmas lights to illuminate their home and yard, saying that some days the display attracts thousands of visitors. Halliwell said that they also use the Wonderland on Roseville to raise funds for Shriners Hospital for Children.

The crowds this year caused neighbors to submit a petition that garnered 45 signatures to local authorities, calling on the town's leaders and police to do something about the "significant public safety and nuisance concerns caused by the excessive volume of traffic the event creates in our neighborhood."

"During the time that Wonderland at Roseville operates, the constant noise, the flow of people walking in the streets and many walking across our lawns, and the litter left behind are all a serious nuisance to our residents," the petition added, saying the crowds could also prevent rescue vehicles from being able to access some homes.

Lt. Robert Kalamaras of the Fairfield Police Department told ABC News that the neighbors were eventually able to peaceably come to an agreement.

"It seems that both sides made some concessions so the event can continue," Kalamaras said, adding that the Halliwell family agreed to shut down the event by a certain time each night. In addition, police are helping to manage traffic in the area.

"The police department seeks to ensure that the event can remain during the holiday as it has for the last 18 years, while minimizing the impact to the community where it is held," Kalamaras added.

Nadine Losquadro, the local resident who submitted the petition, told ABC News that the intention of the petition "was to make the area safe for the residents and visitors."

"We did not petition to complain about the display or ask that it be shut down, and we hope this is not the end result," Losquadro said.

"The Halliwells and I have talked and I believe we came to the same conclusion," she added. "We all want the visitors and neighbors to be safe while the event carries on."

Halliwell told ABC News that while they were initially "disappointed" about the petition, the family felt "happy" with the resolution.

"What are neighbors for? You work together," Halliwell said. "This makes so many people happy, we don't want to shut it down."