A North Carolina woman is taking a cue from her favorite Hallmark movies in order to find a boyfriend just in time for Christmas.
Petra Sutherland is a 73-year-old grandmother, and searching for a partner after watching all the characters in the films find their "happy endings."
"I was sitting here, watching one of those Hallmark Christmas movies, and I couldn't help but think it might work for me," Sutherland told The Charlotte Observer. "I believe in living happily ever after, which is what you see in those movies. I thought: Why not try it in real life? Maybe I'll find my dream guy."
Inspired by the all the movies, the self-described "Hallmark fanatic" took to Nextdoor.com - a social network tailored to finding locals in your neighborhood - and posted: "Wanted A Boyfriend For Christmas! Please send a message. Thank you."
"I would love to have a companion by Christmas, but I'd take one tomorrow if I could find one!" Sutherland told PEOPLE. "I don't know how to go about it, because I was always married, and I probably don't even know how to really date or anything like that."
Sutherland has been married three times, with her last marriage ending in 2005 after 29 years. She works as a customer service representative, and said her busy work schedule had hindered her ability to enter the dating scene.
"There's really no place to go out and meet quality people," she said. "You can't just find someone in a bar. But I haven't really been going out, so I should probably get out there since they're probably not going to come knocking on the door!"
While Sutherland has already received plenty of messages, she has thought about contacting the Steve Harvey Show to have her own segment, "fixing up a grandma."
"I would love just to be happy," Sutherland said. "I don't know if I would ever get married again, but I would just like to have somebody to enjoy life with and maybe help me retire from my job!"
So far Sutherland has found three potential suitors, but doesn't think any of them are "Mr. Right."
"The three possibilities aren't anybody I would actually meet," she said. "They're all younger, too young! One was 25. That's not what I was after, so I probably should have put my age in the message!"
To become Sutherland's boyfriend, potential suitors must be honest, enjoy her company and be at least 55-years-old. Sutherland describes herself as a huge Carolina Panthers fan, someone who loves outdoor adventures and enjoys "all the good things in life."
"I would love to have that fairytale ending, and sometime in my life, I would like to see the happiness that you're supposed to have - I never really have had that," she says. "I would like, once in my lifetime, to have that feeling. I would like to have that guy on a white horse to come rescue me, just like in Pretty Woman!"