Baskets and tubs can look good all winter if you choose a mixture of plants/bulbs and you can certainly add colour with Pansie and Violas, I find if you buy the larger plants already flowering that these will flower till late December and then rest for about 6 weeks, so in the same baskets or tubs I also have Primulas, and spring bulbs such as Lillies, Narcissus, Chinodoxia, Tulips, Crocus which all came in miniature forms and flower consecutive months starting with Snowdrops in January.
Use new compost but there is no need to feed till the spring and water sparingly in winter if at all! But they do need light.
Some of the miniature bulbs I have planted among Pansies/violas and Primulas are :Iris Lady Beatrix Stanley, Narcissus Rip Van Winkle, Narcissus Tete e tete, Narcissus Minnow, Tulip Tarda, Tulip Johann Strauss, Tulip 'Red Riding Hood' Tulipa linifolia

You could try Skimmia with trailing ivy, that's a nice wintery combination. Ornamental cabbages. Sedum spectabile is lovely. Cyclamen can look stunning planted en masse. Winter flowering heathers are beautiful. Good luck with your planters!

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the letter W, then click on Winter flowering containers you will find some good ideas to choose from. I used variegated Hebes last Autumn/Winter, then planted them in the garden borders in the Spring.

thank you for your ideas, I hope to go shopping tomorrow, I think cyclamen, violas, primulas and not forgetting spring bulbs. will photo and post later when they look there best.