re tires, I dont ride in the winter winter, but I do ride until December and start up as soon as the ice has gone and a rain or two washes all the salt off the road (they just started salting here, tons of it in some places...ugh).
I dont get flats very often, but sure as heck wouldnt want to be dealing with one when its really cold, so I would suggest new tubes (no patches) and tires that are pretty tough. Like I said, it doesnt bother me in the least to fix a flat when its warm, but when its cold, dark and rainy/snowy, I would want to cover all those bases as best as I could to minimize any flat shenanigans.