It’s December already.The Thanksgiving turkey is a...

It’s December already.

The Thanksgiving turkey is a pile of bones, and gonzo mall shopping, big-time crowds and the relentless ho-ho-ho loom on the horizon like a Scrooge nightmare.

The remedy?

La Verne’s small-town Christmas-tree lighting ceremony Monday evening.

The bedroom community of 30,897 at the east end of the San Gabriel Valley may not best the other 35 valley cities very often, but on Monday it will be the first burg to officially light its city Christmas tree.

“We try to be the first at a lot of things,” said City Clerk Kathy Hamm.

The city is also environmentally correct. The Monterrey pine to be lit in front of City Hall is firmly rooted in the ground, a donation from the local Chamber of Commerce six years ago.

The tree has grown from a scrawny 6-footer that needed only one strand of lights to an imposing 45-foot specimen that now takes 14 strands, Hamm noted.

The city’s celebration will include Christmas carols by the Bonita High School Chamber Singers and an appearance by Santa Claus (actually a city firefighter, who will arrive in a firetruck). There will be candy canes for the kiddies and a speech by Mayor Jon Blickenstaff.

The celebration begins at 6:45 p.m. at City Hall, 3660 D St.

Other San Gabriel Valley cities with similar celebrations this week:

* San Dimas, 6 p.m., Thursday , Civic Center Plaza, 245 E. Bonita Ave.

* South Pasadena, 6:30 p.m. Thursday , Meridian Iron Works, 913 Meridian Ave.

* Pasadena, 4:30 p.m. Friday , City Hall rotunda, 100 N. Garfield Ave.

* Covina, 6 p.m. Friday , downtown, Citrus Avenue and San Bernardino Road.