Price Is Right contestant: Christopher Melanson and Angela Castagnozzi on “The Price is Right” stage.

Lower Mills resident Christopher Melanson had a once in a lifetime experience when he appeared on the Dec. 10 episode of “the Price is Right.”

After his girlfriend, Angela, planned a trip to San Diego, Melanson bought tickets for the show. Melanson said he had always watched the show, but he never could have guessed that he would actually get a chance to play.

“We stood in line for about 6 hours and went through the whole process,” Melanson said. “And we got picked somehow.”

After being called down in the fifth round, Melanson hugged Angela and ran up and down the aisle giving fellow audience members and contestants high fives.

Melanson guessed $900 for a Wusthof 12 piece cutlery set with a retail value of $962. Running up to the stage, he pointed into the audience at Angela – who was wearing a matching Plinko shirt – as she jumped up and down cheering.

Melanson, a firefighter in Hingham, had a chance to win a “wicked awesome” – to quote announcer George Gray – dining room set during “Flip Flop.” The game shows an incorrect price and the player has to flip or flop the numbers to match the correct price. The price shown was $5,756. Melanson flipped the 57 to 75 for $7,556, but the price was actually $5,765.

Melanson returned to spin the wheel and hit 85, which put him through to the showcase showdown. At the wheel, Melanson gave a shout out to Angela and “everyone back in Massachusetts.”

During the showcase showdown, the 31-year-old overbid on a Boston Whaler Skiboat. The actual retail price was $26,685; Melanson bid $30,000.

Even though he didn’t win the showdown, Melanson called the whole experience “unbelievable.”

“It was so fun,” he said. “Definitely a once in a lifetime thing to do. It was unbelievable.”