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There's so much to do in Philadelphia during the holidays that it's difficult to figure out how to pack it all in, plus ensure you avoid burnout. Use our holiday survival guide to pair holiday shopping and attraction-hopping with still-festive R&R, like El Vez's great happy hour, one of many throughout the city. (Photo credits: left by C. Gabello for GPTMC, right courtesy El Vez)

No matter what stores you’re hitting and what sights you’re taking in this holiday season, you’re going to need a reviving snack break, the chance to rest your laurels preferably with the accompaniment of a live string quartet, or the intel on where you can find a decent happy hour to complement your early evening holiday merrymaking.

Enter: uwishunu’s holiday survival guide, our tips for maximizing on the holiday shopping and attraction-hopping. We’ve got a bunch of ways you can enjoy supporting the city’s vibrant holiday season without burning out.

Our top tips, below:

Food and Drink Pit Stops

• XIX Restaurant’s Nutcracker Tea: This traditional tea is a draw for adults and children alike. Sample a variety of savory sandwiches and decadent desserts while enjoying a freshly brewed pot of tea, and the gorgeous city skyline views. Located right on the Avenue of the Arts at the tip-top of the Hyatt at the Bellevue, it’s a great spot to take a break from shopping along Rittenhouse Row or taking in the Pennsylvania Ballet’s Nutcracker at the nearby Academy of Music. (Available through December 31, 2-5 p.m.)

• Oyster House’s “Bags and Bubbles”: After you’ve shopped until you’ve nearly dropped, refuel at Oyster House with its festive Bags and Bubbles deal. Get ½ dozen oysters and a refreshing glass of Rosa Bianca Prosecco for just $15. Included in the deal is also a $10 voucher for parking at the lot across the street from the restaurant. Located in the middle of some of Center City’s finest shopping, Oyster House is a perfect pick for a snack break. (Available every Saturday through December, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.)

• The Four Seasons Hotel’s Swann Lounge Afternoon Tea: This is the place to go for a relaxed afternoon tea after a day of exploring museums on the Ben Franklin Parkway, the Comcast Holiday Spectacular or doing some Center City shopping. Tea sippers can choose between “Social Tea” and “Royal Tea,” both of which include tea, scones, finger sandwiches, desserts and fruit tartlets. The “Royal Tea” includes the addition of an alcoholic beverage like sparkling wine. (Available Monday-Friday, 2-3:30 p.m and Saturday 3-4:30 p.m.)

• Twenty Manning Grill “Friendly Hours”: Shopping on a weekday to avoid the crowds? Head to Twenty Manning Grill for $3 drafts and $7 wines until 6:30 p.m. Bonus: they offer the same prices 10 p.m. to close, so you can head back for a return visit once the stores close. Be sure to check out the nearby Rittenhouse Square Christmas Tree, the largest in the city. (Available Sunday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.-close).

• Opa’s Holiday Lunch Special: Shop your way through Midtown Village then stop in at Opa for a bargain lunch deal. Order a chicken or lamb gyro with oregano fries and soft drink for just $5.95. The only catch is it’s only available weekdays, so full-time workers either take a long lunch or a day off! (Available weekdays, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m).

• 10 Arts at the Ritz-Carlton Holiday Treats: Take a load off and join 10 Arts for the time-honored tradition of roasted chestnuts over an open fire, out on the hotel’s outdoor veranda. Partake in roasting on Fridays and Saturdays, 5-7 p.m., through December 24. $6 per dozen. You can also warm up with a mug of 10 Arts’ signature hot chocolate, featuring three luxurious styles of Valrhona chocolate complete with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Available daily noon-5 p.m. for $8/nice, $14/naughty (spiced with cordial). Liking the sound of the naughty one? Sip one of 10 Arts’ holiday winter warmers, like Fireside spiced cider, Nana’s Cold Remedy or Snowed In ($8-15).

• Tomato Bistro Small Plates Menu: Once you’re done snapping photos with Santa in Manayunk this Saturday, or shopping Main Street up and back, relax at the newly opened Tomato Bistro above the Couch Tomato Cafe. Their small plates menu makes for the perfect afternoon snack.

Read on for more food and drink ideas, live entertainment to accompany your holiday shopping or attraction sightseeing, and more.

• Percy Street Barbecue at The Market & Shops at Comcast Center’s $10 Lunch Deal: Need some nourishment after craning your neck to take in the Comcast Holiday Spectacular for the fourth time in a row? (Yes, it’s that cool.) You can’t get any more convenient than downstairs in The Market & Shops at Comcast Center. Go for the newly opened outpost of Percy Street Barbecue, which offers a can’t-be-beat $10 lunch deal: a choice of any sandwich, a side and a cold drink, tax included. The sandwiches are huge and there are a ton of great options, so everyone in your party will be satisfied. (Open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.)

• Dickens Menu at Mica in Chestnut Hill: After you visit Morris Arboretum’s Holiday Garden Railway Display, you’re going to need some sustenance. Stop into nearby Mica for Chef Chip Roman’s special Dickens-inspired prix-fixe menu, a fun tribute to the iconic English author’s 200th Birthday. (Available through December 31.)

• Brandywine Valley Wine Trail: Why not complement your visit to the Brandywine River Museum’s Christmas display with some vino? Each of the seven wineries/vineyards along the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail hosts regular tastings, concerts, craft fairs, wine dinners, joint trail-wide festivals and many other activities that provide a perfect excuse to spend an afternoon or evening sipping in the sunlight or under the stars. Pairing holiday attractions with non-holiday-related but still fun activities is a great way to maximize on all the region has to offer this time of year.

Entertainment

• UArts Students Performances at The Shops at the Bellevue: Enjoy a little jazz with your lunch at The Bellevue Food Court, a nice hiatus from stopping into Tiffany, Williams & Sonoma, Polo Ralph Lauren and the other great shops inside. (December 10 and 17, noon-1 p.m.)

• Liberty String Orchestra in the Rotunda at The Shops at Liberty Place: There’s nothing like the soothing sounds of violins, cellos and harp to ease the wallet pain as you dish out the dollars to cross names off your holiday shopping list. The giant festive Christmas tree in the center of the Rotuna adds to the festive atmosphere. (December 10, 1 and 2 p.m.; December 11, 1 p.m.; December 16, 1:15 p.m.; December 17, 1 and 2 p.m.; December 18, 1 p.m.)

• German American Day at the Christmas Village: While browsing the more than 50 international vendors selling arts, crafts and seasonal holiday gifts in quaint wooden booths, enjoy the sounds of a German choir as well as German dance groups such as the famous Schuhplattler dances with their Lederhosen and Dirndel. There will also be German specialties like Gluehwein (mulled wine), Bratwurst (German Sausage), frosted nuts and more. (Saturday, December 10)

• Christmas Choir Performances at Longwood Gardens: Besides a giant gingerbread display, more than 400,000 twinkling lights and spectacular fountain shows, “A Longwood Christmas” features local choral groups and gospel choirs, madrigal singers and handbell choirs daily through December 23. Highlights include the Lancaster Chamber Singers on Saturday, December 10 at 7 and 8 p.m.; The Handbell Choirs of Westminster Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, December 21 at 7 and 8 p.m. and so much more.

• Woodmere Art Museum Friday Night Jazz and Classical Sundays: A great audio complement to the sights you’ll see at nearby Morris Arboretum’s Holiday Garden Railway Display, Woodmere’s weekly concerts and Classical Sunday performances (think opera and choral concerts) are a perfect way to relax for the evening. (Jazz concerts are Fridays, 6–8 p.m through December 23; Classical concerts are Sundays, 3–4:30 p.m. through December 18.)

• Curtis Institute Student Recital Series: Free concerts from prodigies playing everything from Beethoven to Brahms are the perfect pairing with a holiday-themed day of shopping, attraction-seeing, dining and drinking. Performed at Field Concert Hall, 1726 Locust Street, conveniently located right off of Rittenhouse Square, positions you perfectly to grab a glass of bubbly at Parc, stroll through the twinkling Rittenhouse Square and blow some bucks along Rittenhouse Row’s shopping mecca.

Public Art to Check Out

• Lenfest Plaza: Officially open as of October 1, this awesome public piazza addition to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a 24-hour pedestrian court taking over about half a block of Cherry Street. Check out Claes Oldenburg’s 60-degree angled, 51-foot Paint Torch, while you take a load off. Macy’s Holiday Light Show is a convenient few blocks away, and you’ll be halfway in between Center City and Old City shopping.

• Race Street Pier: On days when the sun is shining, Race Street Pier (open from 7 a.m.-11 p.m.) is a great spot to rest during a day of night of holiday revelry. You’ll be right near great Old City bars and restaurants, the 3rd Street corridor of local boutiques and the Blue Cross RiverRink just a few blocks away. And you can’t beat the beautiful view of the Ben Franklin Bridge and the lush greenery.

• Mural Arts: With more than 3,000 murals painted on walls around the city, you’re bound to be nearby one of these stunning works of local art no matter where you’re shopping or what holiday sights you’re seeing. Explore murals by neighborhood using this handy online guide, or even take the Mural Mile self-guided walking tour and weave your holiday activity in between each stop.

• South Street Headhouse District’s Window Wonderland: Through the rest of the holiday season, check out the festive display of decorated windows up and down South Street as you browse storefront for holiday gifts. It’s a nice walk to the Blue Cross RiverRink, as well.

• Sweetgreen’s crowd-sourced display of New Years resolutions: This holiday season, sweetgreen will launch its first annual #sweet2012 campaign to encourage communities to commit to thoughtful New Years resolutions. Now through January 27, store windows will read “Next Year I will:” In store, post-its will be available for customers to grab and write resolutions on. Participants can also tweet their resolution with the “hashtag” #sweet2012, and sweetgreen will aggregate these tweets onto a microsite. Stop by the University City location for a refreshing salad or frozen yogurt, after getting your shop on at local stores like Milk & Honey Market, House of Our Own Bookstore, Trophy Bikes and VIX Emporium.