From Chris Adams,
Your Guide to Ergonomics.
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The most common fixative for gift wrapping is tape. You can use glue, staples and other mechanical fasteners but why? If you are doing something funky you might need them, but they are not as efficient as a good roll of tape on some good paper.

Scotch brand, by 3M, is some of the best tape you will find. You can by a slightly cheaper alternative, but it will not be as good. 3M takes there tape seriously and it has been engineered for adhesion, tear-ability and the surface it is designed to stick on.

The two best tapes to use are Scotch Magic Tape (the green stuff), which virtually disappears, and Scotch Gift Wrap Tape (the purple stuff), which was specifically designed for holding wrapping paper.

If you want to completely hide the tape you can use double sided tape. But you need to determine if the extra appeal (if there is any additional appeal to hiding the tape) is worth all the extra steps and preparations needed to use double sided tape.

Using some form of tape dispenser is a good ergonomic practice. It makes the task of cutting a piece of tape a one handed operation. Using the Scotch Pop-up GiftWrap Tape Dispenser makes things even easier since the pre-cut pieces of tape are at the tips of your fingers.