Yours for peanuts

“IT’S not bad at all, really,” Linus van Pelt said of this dispirited Christmas tree. “Maybe all it needs is a little love.” Certain to warm the heart of the most diffident teenagers and middle-aged humbuggers, this faithful replica of the not-so-spruced-up spruce from the 1965 Emmy Award-winning “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is already feeling the love at Urban Outiftters, its exclusive distributor in L.A. The trendsetting retailer, which also stocks ornaments and stocking stuffers based on the Peanuts gang, the Ramones and the cult film “Napoleon Dynamite,” calls the fast-selling $24 item Charlie Brown’s Pathetic Tree. For the tree trimming challenged, it’s a snap; assembly takes less than a minute, including the placement of one red glass ornament, which causes the bough of this comic construction to sag -- “which is okay,” the four-step instructions note, “because the branch is just heavy from the weight of your love.”

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HAPPENING

You can bid in your pj’s

Four noteworthy auctions of 20th century design will be staged in Illinois, but West Coast folks can still pick up some distinctive gifts thanks to the Internet. The Treadway and Toomey galleries will hold an auction Sunday that includes Rookwood tiles, Stickley tables, as well as midcentury furniture, art and textiles. For the online catalog and other details, go to www.treadwaygallery.com. The same day, Wright is offering home furnishings and decorative arts by Jean Prouve, Hans Wegner and other masters of craft. Then on Tuesday, Wright has two auctions dedicated to Italian design and furniture from the 1970s. For an online bidding form or more information, go to www.wright20.com.

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MADE IN CALIFORNIA

Savings by the potful

Attention, holiday shoppers: The annual Bauer Pottery sale will include discounts of up to 50% on samples and seconds, as well as lesser discounts on reproductions of midcentury ribbed bowl designs, says owner Janek Boniecki. Among the selections: the yellow mixing bowl (regularly $38) and Bauer’s dog bowl in navy blue (regularly $36), shown here. The sale will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, plus Dec. 10 and 11 at 3051 Rosslyn St., Glendale; (818) 500-0655; www.bauerpottery.com. Nearby, Adam Silverman hosts his first studio open house and holiday sale at Atwater Pottery. “People love to come to the studio, so I thought, why don’t I just have a sale here?” Silverman says, before adding, “What if nobody comes and I’m here alone with my pots and my banana nut bread?” Judging from his stoneware (above, from $75), he won’t be lonely. The sale runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 3609 Edenhurst Ave., Atwater Village; (323) 666-3963; www.atwaterpottery.com.

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ENTERTAINING

For parties, drab chairs go undercover

The turkey may have been dry, the children’s table may have been rowdy, but you’ll be darned if you’re going to apologize for ugly folding chairs again. Wildflower Linen at the Pacific Design Center has got you covered. Founded by former fashion designer Youngsong Martin, the firm rents table linens and has developed a following among events planners for couture chair covers, including the spangly silver and white Cher and a beaded merlot taffeta design with corset detailing, right. From $10 per cover, per night, with seat pads at $4.50 each. The tailored slipcovers fit the standard charivari, the faux bamboo chair commonly found in hotel ballrooms. Not a Hilton? No problem. Wildflower also offers a one-size-fits-all tieback, a wrap dress for any shape or size of chair, in a rainbow of sleek polyester charmeuses for $5 each per night. 8687 Melrose Ave. G-285, West Hollywood; (310) 360-9899. The company also has a showroom in Fountain Valley.

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Additional reporting by Times staff writer LISA BOONE