Oatmeal Stout Winter add-ons

I have a Northern Brewer partial mash oatmeal stout kit comin in November to be brewed right at the beginning of December. Any body got any good ideas about what I could do to give the brew an extra winter-ready kick. Spices, grain modifications, pre-boil, boil, primary, secondary. Any ideas are welcome

I'm a bit of a hop head normally, but im hoping to maintain as much of the velvety mouthfeel and malty finish as i can.

Personally, I have been kicking around the idea of a blackberry oatmeal stout.....

maybe just add 1-2 oz of oak chips to secondary for 4-12 weeks.

I, personally, wouldnt mind a really really light fruity flavor to the oatmeal stout, i would maybe even lean more toward currant or apricot. But with this brew I want it to be more of a dead of winter, no vegetation to be found anywhere, black as midnight kind of experience.

which leads me to : oak chips?

first off, what sort of flavor does that impart exactly? could i soak them in a touch of whiskey first? (if so...how long exactly) and most of all, if the recipe is only calling for 4 weeks max in the secondary (i dont mind going a touch longer though) will that be enough time for 1-2 oz of wood chips to add some noticeable flavor/aroma?

I've never oaked a beer but am in the process of coming up with a oak aged vanilla porter right now. Jamil Z. (in brewing classic styles) says that 1-2 oz for 4-12 weeks is the way to go. Taste it periodically til you have the flavor you want. If you go with 2 oz right off the bat, the flavor will be imparted quicker but with less complexity...a bit more one dimensional than what you would get if you go with 1 oz and let it sit for 12 weeks. I was thinking of going with 1 oz for 4 weeks, see how it tastes then just taste it weekly after that til it gets to where I want it. I ordered some American Oak cubes from Austin Homebrew Supply and they recommend using 2.5oz for 5 gallons of beer...obviously I need to do some research on this as well. Like I said it'll be the first time I use oak as well.

I'm not sure what the abv will be on your stout, probably a bit lower than my robust porter so you won't want to age it too long but I really don't think 12 weeks would be overkill on a stout. I think it would be fine. You can certainly soak the wood chips in bourbon not only would it give a bit of bourbon flavor but it would also sanitize them. Jamil actually recomends adding straight bourbon to the finished beer at the very end in small amounts til you get it to where you want it.