I'd second washing glasses over dry wiping them, although, as a photographer I sometimes use Kimtech wipes and lens cleaner (I'm partial to 'Pancro' - which the pro cinematography folks use on their $100K lenses). Either way, it's important that there be no dirt on your lenses before you rub. Paper towels are absorbent - but they're abrasive enough that you'll get microscratches from using them. If you're stuck, can't find anything else, wash then blot, don't rub. BTW, some cabinetmakers use paper towels as a final 'burnish' after sanding. You wouldn't use sandpaper on your lenses...

Agreed on keeping the interior of a car as dark as possible, but there's one interior illumination that's hard to control: headlights behind you. These used to be horrible for me as the light would hit the backs of the lenses. I finally figured out the issue was that my lenses were marginally too big for my face, got smaller ones, and headlights to the rear are still annoying, but not blinding.

Trivia: back when I was in my 20s I thought I had night blindness, took lots of beta carotene to deal with it. It didn't do much for my vision as I actually just needed new lenses (microscratches were reducing acuity - much worse with point sources of light) - but taking it turned me from someone who'd burn quickly in the sun to someone who tanned. I’d guess I’d been subclinically deficient all along in spite of eating lots of colored vegetables.

Finally, having a clean windshield, both inside and out, is also important - and working windshield wipers is part of that. Driving in the rain at night is hardest of all. Surfaces get reflective so you get less return from your headlamps (light bounces away at an angle instead of scattering back); you get more glare from oncoming headlamps for the same reason.

I won't go into all the things I do to keep my night vision functional when I'm photographing the night sky other than to say that none of us have fully adapted night vision when we're driving. There's just too much ambient light.

I join you in your enthusiasm for the Nutcracker, although I'd guess that neither of us has a young dancer still in the family. :-)

PS: if you’ve a photographer in the family, Pancro makes a great stocking stuffer. B&H notes it as the item most listed on ‘wishlists’.