I understand you — it’s not easy to part with things that carry good memories.
I bought my son his first Lego set a few days ago in Bangkok. Before that, he only had very simple Chinese building sets. Since I didn’t have Lego in my own childhood, I had no idea kids could love it this much.
He built his first racing car, and I’m pretty sure now he’ll keep asking me for Lego — he was absolutely thrilled. It’s not cheap, of course, but at least he’s playing with something really good.
From what I can see, he enjoys the building process itself the most. This time the set had a bit over 300 pieces, and he finished it really fast — next time I’ll have to get him something with at least 1000 pieces 😄

Good luck at work — I hope your effort is well rewarded!