AceShowbiz - Eminem has taken Christmas to his heart after almost missing out on one yule with his family at the height of his drug haze. The "Not Afraid" rapper suffered an overdose of methadone the week before Christmas in 2007 and has little recollection of the holidays, which he ruined for his family.

He says, "My whole month of December leading up to (the overdose), I don't remember s**t. All I remember is I was not able to get out of bed. I got up to use the bathroom. I was standing there, trying to take a p**s, and I fell. I hit the floor hard. I got back up, tried again - and boom, I fell again. And that time I couldn't get up."

The rapper blacked out and woke up in hospital. He tells Rolling Stone, "The first thing I remember is trying to move, and I couldn't. It's like I was paralysed... (and) I couldn't speak. The doctors told me I'd done the equivalent of four bags of heroin. They said I was about two hours from dying."

At that point, Eminem had no idea it was Christmas Day. He adds, "The first thing I wanted to do was call my kids. I wanted to get home, and show them that dad's OK... Being a father, wanting to be there with your kids. It's not a fun thing to deal with." The rapper checked out of hospital a week later.