Everybody has that holiday experience where nothing goes right. The in-laws argue, people get too drunk, a toddler feeds the dog chocolate or your uncle burns the house the down.

As we embark upon the Christmas season, my holiday tales were always normal except for one. During my freshman year of high school, it had been decided that my grandparents would host a family get together every Thanksgiving and Christmas, which would include many members of my mother’s side of the family. To put it bluntly, one can never tell if there’s too little alcohol at these things or not enough.

That first year was a disaster for a simple reason. To have a dinner party, typically food is required.

I don’t even remember why there was no food, but unless we hit a deer on the way down, there was nothing to eat. It was at that moment my father and I wondered why, like an Alzheimer’s patient, we’d allowed ourselves to be duped again into the 6-hour drive. It is commonly referred to as in-law entrapment.

However, there was a saving grace to this slow starting holiday event; The Danville Holiday Basketball Tournament. Long before I was born, Danville Area Community College had always hosted a multiple team basketball tournament, which included schools like Chicago Farragut, Chicago Westinghouse, Peoria Manual, Danville and Danville Schlarman.

Until this year.

My grandfather came in and said bluntly, “They’re not going to have it this year or probably ever again.”

It was like being told Santa Claus didn’t exist, because in my mind there was always a commandment “if fare town has enough to fill a gym, thou must compete or host a holiday tournament.” The Kennedy’s had touch football and we had high school basketball.

My dad and I got into the car and searched four counties for a basketball tournament and came up empty, refusing to believe it for ourselves (Chrisman, Schlarman, Charleston, Georgetown, Ridge Farm. For god’s sakes, Hebron painted its water tower into a basketball and still nothing).

All we had to show for our effort was four frozen pizzas we bought at the only gas station we found open.

Nine years have passed and high school holiday tournaments are prevalent all across Illinois.

Charleston, Bloomington, Pekin, Centralia and Collinsville are just a few of the towns in Illinois that have this tradition. This is what sets Illinois and Indiana apart from other so-called basketball areas of the country.

The moral is at some point during the holiday festivities, a break is required from the family craziness – we all know it’s true.

The great thing is towns and school districts are realizing whether you watch these games from dusk to dawn or only stay for a hour or two, high school holiday tournaments are a part of the Christmas season. They should never go away again.